Also known as the Airbus Werkstour 

I recently took the Airbus Tour in Finkenwerder in Hamburg. It's a great activity especially if you are in Hamburg for a few days and it's something that everyone can get something out of, if you are big aviation enthusiasts or if you are simply someone having to accompany a big aviation enthusiast.

The tour is available in English, German, or French. I took the English tour. It lasts around 2.5 hours and whilst we did get to see a Beluga in ours, it's no guarantee.

Top Tips

•  Finkenwerder is not super easy to reach without a car so if you can avoid booking an early morning tour it will save you having to get up super early to use public transport. Most people come here by ferry and then the bus. The ferry is the 62 from Landungsbrücken and your normal travel card is accepted as payment.
  
  
• There is a bakery at the ElbAir here, an Italian restaurant called Ciao Bella, and a supermarket which does have a very nice salad bar. Other than this there aren't more food options so if you have special dietary requirements or want something special, best to bring it with you.
  
  
• If it's summer and you plan on walking to any of the plane spotting platforms, do bring sun-cream and a hat, there is no shade at all, and the walk is around 20 minutes each way so you will likely burn.
  
  
• You must bring your passport to check-in at the front desk of the tour. This is a 'Critical Infrastructure' industry and security is high.
  
  
• Be prepared that on the tour no photos are allowed. 
  
  
• There are some stairs involved so if you are travelling with elderly or disabled visitors it's best to get in touch with the tour first.

What's included in the tour?

You'll start off at the ElbAir exhibition space. The tour recommends that you get there 30 minutes in advance in order to check in, so once you are checked-in you have time to look around the space.

Once the tour has started, you'll go into a room and meet your guide who will introduce themselves, the safety measures and the history of Airbus. This factory is mainly focused on the A320 family so there's more of a focus on that throughout the tour.

Then you'll take the tour bus, which drives in a tunnel under the runway and then past all the various buildings such as procurement, the paint shop, etc. The first stop is Museum Island, you don't get out of the bus here but you do get to see the predecessor of the Beluga; the Super Guppy, the VFW614, HFB 320 "Hansa Jet", Nord Aviation N2501 Noratlas, and the C-160 Transall.

In the first workshop, it's up two flight of stairs to a balcony where you can look out over the assembly line for the A320 series. You'll see 3-4 planes in different stages of production, and various teams of workers checking the internal electrics, wings being attached, etc.

Then it's back on the bus to the second Air Craft hangar where the cabins are assembled and the planes in here are usually already painted, so you can see some fresh livery. This is also a beautiful hangar with windows looking out over the Elbe. You can also see the different types of cabin from first class, to economy and the different customisations Airbus customers get to decide on.

And then it's back to base.

How to get there?

1. If you are coming from the centre of town the best way is to take the 62 ferry from Landunsbrücken. It's around 25 minutes, you can use your normal travel card, and then from there you can take the 150 bus straight to Airbus.
2. If you are coming from Altona you can take the 150 bus from the S-Bahn station.
3. You can bike there and bring your bike on the ferry. In general, Finkenwerder has lots of bike trails so you can use the time to explore the area and also easily get around all the plane spotting points.
4. By car, if it's an option for you is by far the easiest, just leave lots of time for the Elb Tunnel which can get crowded and at peak times have major traffic jams.
   
   

Plane Spotting Opportunities

I have a whole article on the best places in Finkenwerder which you can check out here. The best spot is the Airbus viewing platform out along the runway which is about a 20 minute walk from ElbAir. The other spot is the tower near the end of the runway which sits on the Elb and you can see the planes come in to land and spot some of Hamburg's famous cargo ships.

If you have taken the tour let me know what you think!