Lufthansa Group orders Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A220 jets

The Lufthansa Group is purchasing a total of 80 ultra-modern short and medium-haul aircraft. The company's Executive Board has decided on:

• Purchase of 40 Boeing 737-8 MAX, 60 purchasing options
• Purchase of 40 Airbus A220-300s, 20 purchasing options
• Purchasing options for 40 additional Airbus A320 family aircraft

The Supervisory Board has approved the acquisition. The aircraft firm orders are worth around $9 billion at list prices. Deliveries are expected from 2026 to 2032.

“With today's aircraft order, we are accelerating the largest fleet modernization in our company's history,” says Dr. Detlef Kayser, member of the executive board, fleet and technology. “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. We are pleased that both Airbus and Boeing were able to convince us on all commercial and technological aspects. In addition to this, 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. The new ultra-modern aircraft offer our guests additional comfort. They are also quieter, more economical, more efficient, and emit up to 30% less CO₂ than their predecessor models. The order demonstrates our airlines' future viability and ability to invest, and it shows that we are living up to our responsibility to reduce our carbon emissions."

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.

“It is a good strategic decision for the Lufthansa Group to order Boeing 737 aircraft again for the first time since 1995," said Carsten Spohr, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "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.”

“The Lufthansa Group has set bold targets to decarbonize its operations,” says Stan Deal, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The 737-8 will help the Lufthansa Group meet those sustainability targets with significant improvements in fuel use, emissions, and community noise impacts, all while reducing costs for the airline.”

Christian Scherer, chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International, says, “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.”

Since the A300 in the 1970’s, Lufthansa Group has operated all members of the Airbus product family. By the end of November, Airbus had 849 orders from 31 customers for the A220, of which 303 have been delivered. The A220 is already in service with 18 airlines worldwide on 1,350+ routes.

Airbus A220-300
This latest-generation aircraft has 148 seats and consumes around 2.5 liters of fuel per 100 passenger kilometers. The A220 is intended for use by the newly founded airline Lufthansa City Airlines and will be deployed on short-haul routes from Frankfurt and Munich. With its ultra-modern geared turbofan engines from Pratt & Whitney, the A220-300 is ideal for use in feeder traffic. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2026.

Boeing 737-8 MAX
The 4th generation of the world's most widespread commercial aircraft, the Boeing 737-8 MAX will have 190 seats in Business and Economy Class and, thanks to its efficient engines from CFM International, will only consume around 2.2 liters per 100 passenger-kilometers. The first aircraft is expected in the third quarter of 2027. As the planned growth path for both Lufthansa Airlines, including Lufthansa City Airlines, and SWISS is already underpinned by aircraft orders, the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will be deployed in one of the Lufthansa Group's other flight operations. The decision on this will be made later.

Airbus A320 family
In addition to the firm orders, Lufthansa Group has secured a further 40 purchase options for aircraft from the Airbus A320 family. Around 450 aircraft of this model series are currently in service with Lufthansa Group airlines, making it well-established in the short- and medium-haul segment. 71 A320neo and A321neo aircraft that have already been ordered will be delivered in the next few years. With the agreed 40 purchase options, Lufthansa Group is now securing favorable conditions for future orders as part of the Airbus offer.

New aircraft biggest lever for CO₂ reduction
With a current fleet of more than 700 commercial aircraft, the Lufthansa Group is pursuing a long-term fleet strategy focused on cost efficiency and reducing emissions. Compared to their predecessor models, the new additions to the Lufthansa Group fleet have up to 30% lower fuel consumption and correspondingly lower carbon emissions. The Lufthansa Group aims to halve its net carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.