As Germany gears up to host the World Cup soccer tournament next year, Lufthansa has launched its first Airbus plane with a "football nose".

Painted in black and white, the nose-tip of the Lufthansa Airbus A340-300 has all the semblance of a football above the clouds heralding the message "Welcome to Germany" to soccer fans around the world.

Germany will be hosting the World Cup for the first time in 32 years.

"Lufthansa aircraft with the football nose will act as ambassadors inviting all to enjoy their stay in Germany," Lufthansa's executive vice president marketing and sales, Thierry Antinori, said.

The maiden flight of the freshly painted Airbus took off on Thursday on a trip to Tokyo.

The first guests were players of the FC Bayern Munich squad, who were heading for Japan to play two friendly games and take part in various public relations events over the coming days.

The first A340-300 with the football nose operates on all long-haul routes in the Lufthansa global network.

About 30 other aircraft of different types in the Lufthansa fleet will have their nose similarly painted prior to resuming scheduled flights to destinations within Germany and the rest of Europe.