Lufthansa Group orders Airbus A350s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Lufthansa Group has announced a large widebody order for 40 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing in a deal worth $12 billion at list prices.

The order consists of 20 additional Airbus A350s and 20 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, all scheduled to arrive between 2022 and 2027 to replace older generation aircraft with four engines such as the Boeing 747, Airbus A340 and A380.

Renderings released by the group show Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Airlines and Lufthansa liveries on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, however the group has not yet made a decision on where the aircraft will be stationed.

As part of the deal, the group has also decided to sell six of its fourteen Airbus A380s back to Airbus in 2022 and 2023, however has not disclosed the sale prices of the aircraft, which are all powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. It’s understood economics and operating costs drove the group to this decision.

Lufthansa Group’s order reflects their goal to reduce emissions and focus on the new environmental goals set by regulators around the world. By the next decade, the group will have a completely renewed widebody fleet, which will save approximately 500,000 metric tons per year in fuel (equivalent to 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 per year).

Carsten Spohr, CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Group, reflected on the order in the following statement:

“By replacing four-engine planes with new models, we are laying a sustainable foundation for our future in the long run. In addition to the cost-effectiveness of the A350 and B787, the significantly lower CO₂ emissions of this new generation of long-haul aircraft was also a decisive factor in our investment decision. Our responsibility for the environment is becoming more and more important as a criterion for our decisions.”

Maintenance and operations wise, the new aircraft will help the group reduce costs by more than 20% and will allow them to expand their already sophisticated maintenance network.