Lufthansa and Airbus have marked the occasion of the handover of the 600th aircraft to the airline in a formal ceremony at Airbus’ Hamburg-Finkenwerder site.
The first Airbus delivery to Lufthansa – an A300B2 – took place on February 9, 1976 and marked the beginning of a civil aviation partnership that has now extended almost 50 years.
During that time, more than ten different Airbus aircraft types have been supplied to almost every air operator in the Lufthansa Group.
The story to date
Lufthansa signed its first purchase agreement with Airbus for three A300B2s in 1975 and received the first delivery from Europe’s new aircraft manufacturer seven months later on February 9, 1976.
Subsequent years saw the first deliveries of further Airbus types: the A310 in 1983, followed by the A300-600 in 1987.
The first Airbus A320 to join the carrier’s fleet was delivered in October 1989. Over 370 aircraft of the A320 family are in service today with the various airlines of the Lufthansa Group.
The first A340 followed in 1993; and just one year later the airline’s Airbus fleet passed the 100-aircraft mark. The A330 followed in 2004; and in 2010 the A380 – the world’s largest passenger aircraft – joined the Lufthansa long-haul fleet.
Launch customer on four occasions
Lufthansa has also served as the launch customer for a new Airbus type on four occasions to date: for the A310, the A340, the A220 and, in 2016, the A320neo.
The Airbus A320 family has become a cornerstone of today’s Lufthansa fleet. In addition to this, the A350-900, which first arrived in 2016, has also become a key component in the Lufthansa long-haul fleet, and the Lufthansa Group is the world’s third-biggest A350 customer.
600th Airbus named ‘Münster’
The 600th Airbus aircraft to be delivered to Lufthansa, which bears the registration D-AIEQ, is an Airbus A321neo.
Seating 215 passengers, the A321neo is a state-of-the-art and fuel-efficient short- and medium-haul twinjet that has been in Lufthansa service since 2019. D-AIEQ has been named ‘Münster’ after the German city.
Airbus statement
“Lufthansa and Airbus have been partners ever since we delivered the first A300 back in February 1976,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO.
“Since then, Lufthansa has taken delivery of an Airbus aircraft an average of every month – 600 of them in almost 50 years! No other airline group has received more of our aircraft to date.”
Lufthansa statement
Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Lufthansa Group Executive Board said: “Lufthansa and Airbus are united by a very special partnership. Ever since Airbus’s creation, we have enjoyed close and trusting collaborations on a wide range of research projects and new developments.”
Mr Spohr further noted the fact that the airline has had served as a launch customer for four aircraft types, and pointed to the fact that it has ordered every family of aircraft that Airbus has developed over the past five decades.
He further added: “And more than 90 per cent of the 600 Airbuses that we have taken delivery of during that time are still in Group service today. We also wish to welcome our 700th Airbus to our fleet as part of our centennial celebrations in 2026.”
