Lufthansa Group has placed a $7.5 billion order for 22 new long-haul aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. The group announced that the order consisted of 10 Airbus A350-1000s, a first for the German airline, which becomes the 60th operator of the type, five A350-900s and seven Boeing 787-9s. With this order, Lufthansa moves forward with its widebody fleet renewal process, which will see the oldest aircraft in the fleet, the four-engined Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A340s (both the –300 and –600 version) being progressively taken out of service over the coming years. The aircraft will be replaced by these cleaner and more efficient twin-engine aircraft types.
The new aircraft will be delivered from the mid-2020s, although Lufthansa is also considering additional opportunities to add capacity to its long-haul fleet before then. What is certain is that the aircraft included in this order will all be equipped with the new Allegris long-haul cabin, which was presented at an event in Berlin on February 28, 2023. The new long-haul cabins, as well as the induction into the fleet of state-of-the-art aircraft, are part of Lufthansa’s ambition to position itself as one of the world’s premium airlines.
The Group’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, also highlighted in a statement that the new aircraft would play a key role in helping the airline to achieve its carbon emission reduction goals by 2030. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, half of Lufthansa’s long-haul fleet was comprised of four-engined jets. This figure is set to drop to under 15%.
With the additional 22 aircraft, the German flag carrier’s order book now totals 108 widebody aircraft awaiting delivery. The number increases to 200 if we also include orders for Airbus A320neo narrowbody family aircraft.