Lufthansa First Class Rubber Ducks Explained

Lufthansa offers its first class passengers collectible rubber ducks. This is kind of fascinating, since rubber ducks aren’t typically something you’d associate with premium air travel. I’ve talked about these rubber ducks many times in passing on the blog, but have never dedicated a post to them.

What’s the story with Lufthansa’s rubber ducks? What’s the backstory, and where and how can you get them? Let’s dig in…

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Lufthansa’s first class rubber ducks date back nearly 20 years, to 2004, when the First Class Terminal Frankfurt opened. Lufthansa’s lounges are frankly a bit sterile in terms of design, but the airline has a few quirky features that add a bit of personality, and among those is rubber ducks.

The rubber duck concept started off innocently enough. One of the shower suites in the First Class Terminal has a bathtub, so Lufthansa would place a rubber duck at the bath. Over time, the airline seemingly realized how much passengers enjoyed taking these ducks home with them, and embraced it.

In the meantime, the airline has expanded these to all of its first class lounge locations in Frankfurt and Munich, and the airline has introduced dozens of different ducks over the years.

Lufthansa has unveiled ducks for all kinds of occasions, ranging from Christmas ducks, to Oktoberfest ducks, to coronavirus ducks, to FIFA World Cup ducks. Honestly, how can you not fall in love with these ridiculously cute collectible items, especially as an avgeek, given the branding? Even if you’re not personally into them, surely you have someone in your life (a kid, or a kid at heart) who would love a cool rubber duck!

How do you actually get your hands on one of Lufthansa’s first class ducks? You’ll need to visit the First Class Terminal Frankfurt, or any of Lufthansa’s First Class Lounges in Frankfurt or Munich. In order to access those, you’ll generally need to be flying in Lufthansa or SWISS first class, or you’ll need Lufthansa’s uber-elite HON Circle status.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to take a bath to actually get a rubber duck. Instead, the lounge attendants (referred to as PAs, or personal assistants, because of how attentively they look after your travel plans) will be happy to offer you one. I know it might sound weird, but just ask them, as they’re very used to it. “Hey, could I have one of those ducks?”

A few things to note regarding the logistics:

If you want to get a sense of the variety of ducks there are, you’ll find a display case when you enter the First Class Terminal that shows some of the ducks that have been offered over the years. If I were ever to do a smash and grab, this might just be where it would be. 😉

The approach that Lufthansa takes toward marketing these ducks is also interesting to me. The airline says almost nothing about these ducks through its official channels, and the airline also typically only offers them if you specifically ask.

So while they have a cult-like following, it’s also entirely possible that you’ve flown Lufthansa first class dozens of times and had never heard of these ducks (and are just confused by the case of ducks at the entrance to the lounge).

With the above out of the way, here’s something I’m curious about — to those who collect these rubber ducks, what do you actually do with them? It’s a genuine question, because I collect these ducks, and… I’m not actually sure what to do with them? Like, I have plans to do something grand with them at some point, I’m just not sure what yet.

I suppose I could put them on the edge of our bathtub, which seems like the most logical option. But I feel like that will cause some of the more interesting ducks to fade and be damaged much more quickly.

I guess the other option is to line up the collection somewhere, but without context, it’s perhaps kind of weird to display rubber ducks in your living room as an adult (and realistically, I don’t think I’d get spousal approval for that either).

Like, I absolutely love these ducks and I have them all in a drawer next to my bed right now. I’d like to display them somewhere, I just can’t actually figure out where and how. So I’d love some tips, as I’m curious how others approach this!

Lufthansa has an awesome collection of rubber ducks, which are available in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, and in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges in Frankfurt and Munich. The selection rotates, so over time you can potentially build up quite a collection. Quack quack!

What’s your take on the whole Lufthansa first class duck thing?

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Last two times I flew Lufthansa they lost my luggage. They will not get a third chance

I guess they're sort of like the KLM miniature delft houses that you get given in their world business class. I've seen people put them on their mantelpiece. I guess it's a sort of "if you know, you know...wink" kind of thing.

KLM has the gin houses.

A woman in Canada, during the Pandemic, started putting ducks (with a note to say...something to make you smile) on any Jeeps she saw in parking lots. Now...I've seen Jeeps, especially in Florida, with the dash COVERED with ducks :) Not so much in Canada, but it has REALLY taken hold in Florida :)

I have mine lined up in my office so they’re behind me in my webcam shot.

I take mine to travel and hike with me. I have created an IG account for him. https://instagram.com/travelling.duckie?utm_source=qr&igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg%3D%3D

Rubber ducks are the symbol of the protest movement led by jailed (after being poisoned) Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. So don't expect any Russian passengers to take them home. Then again, don't expect any Russian passengers. And thanks to the Germans for supporting Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

I don't think all Russians support the war. I'm sure many will still be willing to fly Lufthansa to receive bad service and rubber ducks.

We have our collection lined up on the toilet tanks in both bathrooms!

I've got a couple of them. Keep them in my bathroom just in case they want to go for a swim.

I must have about 6 or 7, and I keep them lined up by the side of my tub.

Great idea! Shows imagination & playfulness that stodgy Germans aren’t supposed to exhibit. Kudos

I think this is one of the most successful promotions among all the airlines with their products overall.

What shelf is the COVID duck I sent you on ? It looks a where’s Waldo :))))

Set up a ahelf in your bathroom and set up vignettes of various duckies.

What to do with Lufthansa First Class rubber ducks? Comedian James Veitch might give you some ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYOmtEcZ1lk

Thanks for the laugh. Just quackers.

We put ours by the bathtub. Seems like the most logical choice!

Great idea! Btw, love your videos. Please keep them coming.

I looked on e-bay and there are a bunch there for sale. Cheapest one was about $30 up to $150. Saw some pretty neat ones for sure!

In terms what you do with them, it's the same like any memorabilia. Other airlines have similar concepts - KLM's houses, Singapore's bears... etc... For us, the ducks go to my kids to play with in a bath and they often start peeling soon anyway.

I bought a white sqaure board at an art store that was ready to hang on the wall. I cut the butt/tail end off and then glued them in a 3 Duck X 3 Duck grid onto the board. I get so many compliments. I wish all of the ducks were different but I have many duplicates. I happen to have more of the black and octoberfest ducks.

I have about 20 or so lined up in my home office on top of the hutch thst sits on top of the desk. I was thinking of using the office for displaying other travel memorabilia like aspirational boarding cards etc

You could put them in your guest bathroom/powder room, soemthing interesting for guests to see and they won't get ruined cause no one will be having baths with them.

Or put them on a shelf in your study. Maybe scatter them in between your airplane models.

Are any of them valuable? I have a few and I'd sell them if there is a market for them.

As long as you have your ducks lined up everything will be fine

"Get your Ducks in a row" is the US saying...

Exactly what I expected a chicken would say.

Make your own glass display case for the ducks.

I have 14 LH Ducks currently on a shelf in my shower/bath area. They are a fun addition to a boring bathroom!

I don't think there's any point worrying about "preserving them". Give some to Miles as a toy, put them in the bath, hide them in silly places. Make Ford travel with one when he's without you as a good luck charm. Have fun!

Use them. Far too often houses are cleared following a life event and all these things that have been “kept for best” get summarily thrown away.

Maybe save one or two but use the the others. Enjoy Miles enjoying them in the bath. Enjoy using them yourself. Just don’t keep them to throw them away when you move or downsize.

You could create a mobile for your kid, hanging it above his bed.Of course that would also reduce lifetime of those ducks and you'd need to make a hole in the head or put glue on them, but at least they get some practical use instead of just being purely decorative. ;)

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As long as you have your ducks lined up everything will be fine

I don't think there's any point worrying about "preserving them". Give some to Miles as a toy, put them in the bath, hide them in silly places. Make Ford travel with one when he's without you as a good luck charm. Have fun!

Use them. Far too often houses are cleared following a life event and all these things that have been “kept for best” get summarily thrown away.Maybe save one or two but use the the others. Enjoy Miles enjoying them in the bath. Enjoy using them yourself. Just don’t keep them to throw them away when you move or downsize.