Lufthansa Group’s Executive Board has approved the purchase of 22 new widebody aircraft to advance its plans to replace older, less efficient aircraft families within the holding carriers.
The order confirmed today is valued at USD 7.5 billion at list prices and comprises 10 Airbus A350-1000s, 5 A350-900s and 7 Boeing 787-9s, which will be delivered during the second half of this decade and will join 86 other wide-body aircraft that Lufthansa Group already has on order for delivery over the next few years. The aircraft will be distributed among the group’s airlines (including the Boeing 777-9, for which Lufthansa is a launch customer and whose entry into service was delayed from 2023 to 2025 due to development issues).
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The A350-1000s will be deployed primarily in markets with a strong premium segment presence and will therefore have First Class cabins, specified the company in a statement.
Lufthansa already has three Boeing 787-9s in its fleet, while the A350-900 fleet totals 21 aircraft.
“With our purchase of 22 further Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s, we have secured the delivery of more than 50 latest-generation long-haul aircraft for the member airlines of the Lufthansa Group since the pandemic began,” said Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
“These new aircraft will also play a decisive role in helping us achieve our carbon emission reduction goals by 2030 as fuel-efficient aircraft which incorporate the latest manufacturing technology are by far the greatest lever for providing more climate protection within the aviation sector,” he added.
The goal: to phase out the four-engined aircraft
The new combined A350, 787 and 777-9 fleet will allow Lufthansa to phase out six sub-fleets, among them some iconic: the Boeing 747-400 (8 currently in the fleet), Airbus A340-600 (10) and A340-300 (26); and on the twin-engine side, the Boeing 777-200 (6 in the fleet), B767-300 (3) and Airbus A330-200 (3). The group noted that four-engines will now represent less than 15% of the group’s total fleet, down from around 50% prior to the pandemic.
Lufthansa also owns 19 Boeing 747-8s, the last generation of the Jumbo (which are on average 9.4 years old), while it is keeping its 9 Airbus A380s (11.5 years old on average) out of commercial service. The airline did not foresee the return of the latter, but the sharp increase in travel demand and the delay in the delivery of the 777-9s forced it to start the process of reactivating at least two A380s.
See also: Lufthansa reactivates second Airbus A380s
MoU with Airbus
Lufthansa and Airbus also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their cooperation “in the areas of sustainability and future technologies, including the intensified use of sustainable fuels, the further optimization of operations through a more efficient flight management and exploration into the use of hydrogen”.
