Lufthansa orders five additional Airbus A350-1000s
Lufthansa Group has placed an incremental order for five A350-1000s directly from Airbus, increasing its backlog for the type to 15 units.
The five additional aircraft will be delivered between 2028 and 2030. As is customary for the holding company, it did not reveal which of its airlines will operate the aircraft.
The A350-1000s will start delivering to the group in 2026. The first ten units were ordered in 2023.
On 5 December 2024, Swiss announced it has decided to increase its commitment to the Airbus A350-900s from five to ten. The airline announced its intention to take on A350s in late 2022. All of the ten aircraft will come from the open orders the Lufthansa Group holds for the type with Airbus.
Delivery of the first batch of A350-900s is to begin in summer next year. The second batch is to arrive from 2027 onwards. The airline expects to have all ten in operation by 2031.
Currently, the long-haul fleet of Swiss is made-up of fourteen Airbus A330-300s, four A340-300s, and twelve Boeing B777-300ERs.
On 9 January 2024, the newest subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, City Airlines, took delivery of its first aircraft. Former Eurowings Airbus A319 D-ABGH (3245) arrived at Munich on this date. The aircraft is sporting the Lufthansa City-livery.
Operations are due to begin at the beginning of the 2024 summer season, which starts at the end of March. The airline will act as a feeder airline for Lufthansa and will fly out of Frankfurt and Munich. Initially, Lufthansa City launches with a fleet of transferred A319s but will later switch to the newly ordered A220-300s.
The airline said the initial four aircraft will be ex-LATAM Airlines Brasil (JJ, Sao Paulo Congonhas) units and will be delivered in the Brazilian carrier's configuration albeit with "slight modifications to the cabin and Edelweiss design" due to supply chain issues affecting the global MRO sector. They will seat up to 339 passengers with 30 business class, 63 economy plus, and 246 economy class seats. The Swiss leisure specialist, a subsidiary of Swiss (LX, Zurich), plans to eventually reconfigure the aircraft to its own specifications but did not provide any dates.
"The other two aircraft were also originally ordered by LATAM Airlines. They will be in service with another operator until the transfer to the Lufthansa Group. For this reason, the MSNs will only be announced at a later date," the airline told ch-aviation.
According to the ch-aviation fleets history module, the airline operated up to six widebody aircraft between 2018 and 2021 which, at that time, comprised four A340-300s and two A330-300s. Edelweiss Air retired the A330s during the COVID-19 pandemic, transferring them to fellow leisure specialist EW Discover (Frankfurt International). Besides the A340s, the airline continues to operate thirteen A320-200s.
The airline said it would deploy the A350s on existing routes but eventually plans to use their superior range to launch new services from Switzerland.
Lufthansa Group orders 22 latest-generation long-haul aircraft – total list price of 7.5 billion US dollars
Orders placed for ten Airbus A350-1000s, five Airbus A350-900s and seven Boeing 787-9s
Fleet modernization further accelerated / substantial contribution to achieving 2030 carbon emission goals
Lufthansa Group and Airbus strengthen cooperation on sustainability and future technologies
Lufthansa Group to take delivery of 108 latest-generation long-haul aircraft over the next few years
Six older aircraft types to be withdrawn in the medium term including the four-engined Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600 and Airbus A340-300
The Lufthansa Group is purchasing more state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft. The Group Executive Board has resolved to order
ten Airbus A350-1000 passenger aircraft
five Airbus A350-900 passenger aircraft
seven Boeing 787-9 ‘Dreamliner’ passenger aircraft
The orders were approved today by the Supervisory Board of parent company Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The aircraft concerned will be delivered to the Lufthansa Group from the mid-2020s onwards. Based on list prices, the order is worth a total of about 7.5 billion US dollars and is in line with Group’s mid-term financial planning.
The Lufthansa Group is also in advanced negotiations to acquire further long-haul aircraft which could be made available at shorter notice.
Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, says: “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. These aircraft will be equipped with our new long-haul cabins, including the latest-generation seats in all classes of travel. And the combination of our superb employees on the ground and on board, these highly advanced aircraft and our latest seating product on board will position our airlines well to the fore again within the premium segment. 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.”
With today’s orders included, the Lufthansa Group will take delivery of 108 state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A350-1000, the Airbus A350-900, the Boeing 787-9 and the Boeing 777-9 over the next few years. In doing so, the Group will operate the quietest, most profitable and most economical long-haul aircraft that are currently in service. On average the new aircraft consume just 2.5 liters of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers – some 30 percent less than their predecessor aircraft types.
The new long-haul aircraft will also replace older aircraft types. In the medium-term future, six such subfleets will be taken out of service: the four-engined Boeing 747-400s, Airbus A340-600s and Airbus A340-300s and the two-engined Boeing 777-200s, Boeing 767-300s and Airbus A330-200s. This will reduce the quadjet contingent within the Lufthansa Group fleet to under 15 percent: prior to the pandemic, quadjets made up some 50 percent of the groupwide aircraft fleet.
In addition to the agreement on the purchase of the new aircraft, Airbus and Lufthansa have also signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ to further strengthen their cooperation in the field of sustainability and future technologies. This includes the intensified use of sustainable aviation fuels, the further optimization of operations through a more efficient flight management and exploration into the use of hydrogen.
In total, and including the advanced short- and medium-haul aircraft of the Airbus A320neo family, the Lufthansa Group currently has over 200 firm orders for new aircraft of the latest generation which will be delivered over the next few years.
The Airbus A350-1000
The Airbus A350-1000 will be a new addition to the Lufthansa Group fleet. The aircraft is 73.8 meters long and offers some 15 percent more capacity than the Airbus A350-900. The ten A350-1000s on order should primarily be deployed in premium-heavy markets. Therefore all these aircraft will be equipped with a First Class cabin.
The Airbus A350-900
Lufthansa already operates 21 of these aircraft with sizeable success. With the five aircraft ordered today, the Lufthansa Group will now take delivery of 33 further transports of this long-haul aircraft type.
Following-up on our post of 5 December 2022, Swiss has now officially confirmed it has selected the Airbus A350-900 to replace the A340-300 in its fleet. The airline will not place a new order with Airbus but has been allocated five aircraft from the existing order book the Lufthansa Group has for the type with the manufacturer.
Swiss has chosen the A350 due to its wider cabin and longer fuselage, enabling the airline to offer a superior first class cabin, compared to the more limited possibilities it would have by selecting the Boeing B787.
The airline currently operates a fleet of five A340-300s, next to fourteen A330-300s and twelve Boeing B777-300ERs for its longhaul-operations. The A340s are almost twenty years old and in total the airline flew with fifteen of them.
On 13 September, Austrian Airlines welcomed its first Airbus A320neo. The aircraft, OE-LZN (10904), arrived at Vienna from Toulouse-Blagnac. It's currently all-white and will get a cabin refit and a fresh coat of paint before deployment into commercial service, which is expected in October 2022. The first destinations where you can spot the aircraft, apart from Vienna, will be Berlin and London-Heathrow.
The aircraft is coming from the Lufthansa Group's orderbook for the A320neo-family and will be joined by three more, one of which also due in this year. Austrian will use the new A320neos to replace older Airbuses in the fleet, which today consists of 29 A320s and six A321s. The airline also operates three Boeing B767-300ERs, six B777-200ERs and seventeen Embraer ERJ195s.
Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) will induct its first new generation narrowbody jets later this summer as part of its fleet renewal plan.
In a statement, the Lufthansa Group subsidiary said it would add four A320-200Ns between August 2022 and Spring 2023 to replace an unspecified number of outgoing, older A320-200s. The incoming A320neo will be deployed on continental European flights initially to London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Frankfurt Int'l.
When contacted by ch-aviation, Austrian declined to add any further comment.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Austrian has a fleet of twenty-nine A320ceo of which 19 are currently active alongside three A321-200s and three A321-100s. It ended A319-100s operations on January 1. The A320s are around 17 years of age on average and are all owned by the airline with the exception of five which are leased from Aviation Capital Group (four) and GECAS (one).
Brussels Airlines has today announced that it will take delivery of three Airbus A320neo aircraft in 2023. The news comes following a meeting between the Lufthansa Group Executive Board and the Board of Directors of SN Airholding. The airline says that the three new state-of-the-art aircraft will allow it to modernize its fleet further.
This will be the first time Brussels Airlines has received a brand new plane. Photo: Brussels Airlines
Furthermore, the addition of the new aircraft will significantly lower the airline’s medium-haul CO2 emissions and help lower noise levels over incoming and outgoing flight paths. Brussels Airlines was also keen to point out that it will be the first time in the airlines’ 19-year history that it will be receiving new aircraft directly from the factory.
Brussels Airlines wants to replace its A319s
When speaking about the new planes in the statement, CEO of Brussels Airlines Peter Gerber said:
“As a responsible airline with ambitious sustainability targets, it’s crucial for us to continue our path of further modernizing our fleet. Thanks to our mother company Lufthansa, we are, for the very first time in our 19 year-long history, able to replace the older A319 Airbus with three modern and fuel-efficient aircraft that will leave the Airbus factory by summer 2023.
“Compared to our A319 aircraft, the three A320neo will allow a noise contour reduction of 50% and reduce fuel use and CO2 emissions by 11% per flight. Furthermore, thanks to the higher seating capacity of this ultra-modern Airbus, the fuel use and CO2 emissions per seat will decrease by 30%.”
Brussels Airlines wants to phase out its A319s. Photo: Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines chief operating officer (COO) Edi Wolfensberger then weighed in with his thoughts on how the new aircraft will help the Lufthansa Group airline not only lower CO2 emissions but harmonize its medium-haul fleet, saying:
“Needless to say, that we are extremely enthusiastic to welcome the Airbus A320neo in our fleet. The modern General Electric CFM engines of the Airbus A320neo are renowned for their fuel efficiency and lower noise contour.
“Next to that, the three new aircraft will bring us closer to our target of a fully harmonized A320 medium-haul fleet to aircraft only, herewith further reducing the complexity of our Maintenance & Engineering activities and the whole operation. Due to the high similarity with the current fleet, the crews are able to operate the new aircraft after a short familiarisation; this makes the integration seamless.”
Brussels Airlines is committed to reducing CO2
By investing in new planes when the aviation industry has seen its worst-ever year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brussels Airlines shows how committed the Lufthansa Group is to lowering CO2 emissions. The Groups sustainability target is to reduce its 2019 CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and become CO2 neutral by 2050.
Compared to the older Airbus A319 aircraft that are to be phased out, the Airbus A320neo burns 11% less full and cuts noise levels by 50%. Also, because the A320neo has a larger capacity (27%), the fuel use per seat is reduced by 30% compared to an A320 without the new engine option. The neo option uses 16% less fuel than the old option and reduces CO2 emissions by 16% while carrying the same number of passengers.
According to the aviation data and statistics website, ch-aviation, Brussels Airlines has a fleet of 46 aircraft comprising the following planes:
As you can see from the above figures, Brussels Airlines relies heavily on the Airbus A319. The average age of its A319 fleet is over 16-years-old. This means that to harmonize its medium-haul fleet, other A319s will have to be swapped out for other Lufthansa Group A320s.
Swiss has taken delivery of its final of 30 A220s on 24 May. The aircraft, A220-300 HB-JCU (55110), arrived at Zürich after a non-stop flight from the Airbus-plant at Mirabel. It's due to fly its first commercial flights on 29 May.
The Lufthansa Group ordered 30 CS100s for Swiss back in 2009 when the C-Series programme was launched by Bombardier. The company also took options on another 30 aircraft. In 2015, the order was amended into an order for twenty CS100s and ten CS300s. A year later, Swiss took delivery of its first CS100 and became the launch operator for the C-Series on 15 July 2016. In the same year, the airline amended its order to eight CS100s and 21 CS300s, which were renamed A220-100 and -300 when Airbus took over the programme in 2018.
Lufthansa Group has announced it has firmed options for twenty-seven A320neo Family narrowbodies, including twenty-four A320neo and three A321neo. The deliveries are scheduled for 2023 and 2024.
Out of the twenty-seven units, ten - including seven A320neo and all three A321neo - will be delivered to Swiss (LX, Zurich). The remaining seventeen units will operate for other units of the group, which have so far not been named.
Including the newly firmed options, Lufthansa Group ordered a total of 149 A320neo Family aircraft. Prior to the new announcement, the group's order book with Airbus included sixty-seven A320neo and forty A321neo for Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt Int'l), as well as ten A320neo and five A321neo for Swiss.
Of these, thirteen A320neo are already operated by Lufthansa. The German carrier will shortly take delivery of its maiden A321neo, while Swiss will start accepting its A320neo in 2019.
Lufthansa still also has nine current generation A320-200s on order with Airbus.
