Lufthansa Group has ordered up to 200 narrowbody aircraft including firm orders for 40 Airbus A220s and 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, with options for an additional 120 aircraft. Moreover, easyJet has also confirmed a firm order for 157 additional A320neo family aircraft besides upsizing its existing order for 35 A320neo into the larger A321neo.
Order from Lufthansa Group:
- Firm Order of 40 Boeing 737-8 MAX, with 60 options.
- Firm Order of 40 Airbus A220-300s for Lufthansa City Airlines with 20 options.
- Additional options for 40 aircraft from the Airbus A320 family.
Scheduled for deliveries from 2026 until 2032, this deal is valued at $9 billion at list prices, even though airlines never pay list prices. Lufthansa plans to finance the purchase of these new aircraft with net investments of between 2.5-3 billion euros ($2.7-3.2 billion) in 2023 and about the same amount next year.
“With today’s aircraft order, we are accelerating the largest fleet modernization in our company’s history. This increases our order list of around 200 aircraft to 280 – plus an additional 120 purchasing options for further state-of-the-art short- and medium-haul aircraft. The decision for the Boeing 737-8 MAX will also give us more flexibility for the procurement of short- and medium-haul aircraft in the future.”
Dr. Detlef Kayser, Lufthansa Group’s Member of the Executive Board, Fleet and Technology.
Boeing 737 Back in Lufthansa’s fleet
With the German group acquiring up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, this will restore the Boeing 737 family into Lufthansa’s fleet. This is Lufthansa’s first Boeing single-aisle order in nearly three decades.
Lufthansa launched the Boeing 737 in 1967, taking delivery of the first of 146 737s until its final delivery of a 737-300 in 1995. The airline retired its last 737 in 2016 as it started its group-wide fleet modernization program.
“It is a good strategic decision for the Lufthansa Group to order Boeing 737 aircraft again for the first time since 1995. Around 60 years ago, Lufthansa was a co-developer and launch customer of this globally successful model. With the new modern, quiet, economical and efficient 737-8 aircraft, we are making progress both in modernizing our short- and medium-haul fleet and in achieving our carbon CO2 reduction targets.”
Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
Lufthansa Group’s Boeing 737 MAX will feature 190 seats in Business and Economy Class. The first MAX jet is expected in the third quarter of 2027.
As reported by the group, the MAX jets won’t operate for Lufthansa City Airlines, and SWISS, as the planned growth path for both of these airlines is already underpinned by aircraft orders. Therefore, a decision on the deployment of the Boeing 737 MAX within the broader Lufthansa Group’s flight operations will be determined at a later date.
Airbus A220-300 and A320 Family
Anticipated for the first delivery in 2026, the Airbus A220-300 will feature 148 seats and will be exclusively used by Lufthansa City Airlines. Thus, the A220s will be deployed on short-haul routes from Frankfurt and Munich. Equipped with turbofan engines from Pratt & Whitney, the A220-300 is ideal for use in feeder traffic, as stated by the group.
In addition to the firm orders, Lufthansa Group has also secured a further 40 purchase options for aircraft from the A320 family. Currently, around 450 A320 family aircraft are in service with Lufthansa Group airlines. Moreover, the group is anticipating delivery of 71 A320neo and A321neo aircraft that have already been ordered in the next few years.
“The Lufthansa Group was one of the first customers for the A220 and has successfully operated the aircraft in its SWISS route network ever since. We are delighted by this testimony of confidence from our long-standing partner and customer.”
Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International.
easyJet Orders Up to 257 Airbus A320 Family Aircraft
Airbus is continuing to push ahead with new orders before the end of 2023.
easyJet has confirmed a firm order for 157 additional A320neo family aircraft following shareholder approval. The firm order comprises 56 A320neo and 101 A321neo aircraft and also includes the upsizing of an existing order for 35 A320neo into the larger A321neo.
easyJet’s shareholders approved the order for the Airbus A320neo family aircraft by 99.94% against 0.06% at today’s General Meeting.
“We are very pleased to be able to confirm this significant order which not only enables easyJet to replace its older aircraft with more efficient aircraft, a core component of our net zero roadmap, but also provides us the ability for disciplined growth, including the significant opportunity that upgauging brings. With this order, easyJet will be able to continue to cement its leading position at Europe’s primary airports and so we look forward to working in partnership with Airbus in the years to come.”
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet.
Feature Image via Lufthansa