Lufthansa Group Orders More Airbus A350-1000s

Lufthansa Group has announced that it’ll boost its commitment to the A350 family by increasing its backlog to include five further A350-1000s.

The high-capacity long-haul aircraft has yet to be delivered to the Group. However, it will play an integral role in the future of the Lufthansa Group as it looks to replace ageing widebody types and elevate its customer experience.

While the Group is home to many advanced airlines, one of the primary talking points regarding the business is fleet composition efforts.

As a result, there has been an added emphasis on renewing the fleet to ensure that efficiency is paramount and that the Group’s product is competitive.

The latest deal for the high-capacity A350-1000 will increase firm orders from ten to fifteen, with deliveries occurring between 2028 and 2030.

These A350s are expected to replace fleet types such as the 747-400, A340-600 and even the A340- 300, which, while beloved, are certainly showing signs of age and lack of efficiency compared to what is coming through the door.

The new additions to the Lufthansa Group consume up to 35% less fuel and emit fewer emissions, which helps align with ongoing attempts to be more careful when it comes to being sustainable and placing greater importance on this.

Lufthansa Group says they have a lot of confidence in the product put out by Airbus, as seen through the A350, and this latest deal will substantially accelerate modernisation efforts currently taking place group-wide.

The group has been entirely committed to Airbus since its conception. Throughout its history, it has ordered 770 aircraft from Airbus and is the largest Airbus customer worldwide.

However, thanks to ongoing acquisition efforts for Italian-based ITA Airways, there is also more potential to grow the short-haul and long-haul Airbus family.

Lufthansa Struggles With New Planes

Unfortunately, acquiring these next-generation planes has proven more difficult than initially imagined, with Lufthansa Group documenting these struggles quite publicly and, at times, has led to them seeking compensation for the damages.

Airlines such as Lufthansa have been forced to retain older planes, which, while fantastic for aviation enthusiasts, is not ultimately the most optimal and financially sound decision.

The retainment of these older planes leads to finances not being as favourable and a mismatch in the fleet with added complexities that, if anything, have been attempted not to take place any more.