Lufthansa operates a mainline fleet consisting of Airbus narrow and widebody and Boeing widebody aircraft. [1] [2] The mainline fleet is composed of seven different aircraft families: the Airbus A320 and A320neo, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and Boeing 787.
Additionally, Lufthansa currently has orders placed for further new Airbus A320neo, Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X series aircraft. In the following years, the 777X will replace all Boeing 747-400 aircraft in the fleet, and the 787 and A350 will replace all remaining Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft, respectively.[ citation needed ]
As of August 2024 [update] , Lufthansa (excluding Lufthansa City Airlines, Lufthansa CityLine and all other subsidiaries) operates the following aircraft: [1] [2]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
F | C | W | Y | Total | Refs | ||||
Airbus A319-100 | 39 | — | — | 24 | — | 102 | 138 | [3] | |
Airbus A320-200 | 49 | — | — | 28 | — | 140 | 168 | [4] | |
Airbus A320neo | 35 | 37 [5] | — | 28 | — | 152 | 180 | [6] | Worldwide launch customer. [7] Some aircraft on order allocated to group subsidiaries. [8] |
Airbus A321-100 | 17 | — | — | 26 | — | 174 | 200 | [9] | Launch customer. [10] |
Airbus A321-200 | 37 | — | — | 26 | — | 174 | 200 | [9] | |
Airbus A321neo | 17 | 22 [5] | — | 28 | — | 187 | 215 | [11] [12] | |
Airbus A330-300 | 9 | — | — | 42 | 28 | 185 | 255 | [13] | To be replaced by Boeing 787-9 by 2028. [14] |
Airbus A340-300 | 17 | — | — | 30 | 28 | 221 | 279 | [15] | Largest operator of its type. [16] To be replaced by Boeing 787-9 [17] and Airbus A350-900. To be phased out by 2028. [14] |
Airbus A340-600 | 10 | — | 8 | 56 | 28 | 189 | 281 | [18] | Returned from long-term storage in 2022. [19] To be phased out by 2028. [14] [20] [21] |
Airbus A350-900 | 26 | 28 [5] | 4 | 38 | 24 | 201 | 267 | Deliveries with Allegris interior since May 2024 with First Class to be installed later. To replace Airbus A340-300 and Munich-based Airbus A340-600. [22] | |
— | 48 | 21 | 224 | 293 | To be retrofitted with Allegris interior. | ||||
30 | 26 | 262 | 318 | Former Philippine Airlines aircraft. | |||||
30 | — | 309 | 339 | Two former South African Airways aircraft to be leased, retaining their original configuration. [23] | |||||
Four former LATAM Brasil aircraft on order, retaining their original configuration. [24] | |||||||||
Airbus A350-1000 | — | 10 [21] | TBA | Deliveries from 2026 to replace Airbus A340-600. [21] | |||||
Airbus A380-800 | 8 | — | 8 | 78 | 52 | 371 | 509 | [25] | 6 of formerly 14 A380s have been sold back to Airbus while the remaining 8 will be reactivated by 2025, [26] [27] but to be retired after 2030. [28] |
Boeing 747-400 | 8 | — | — | 67 | 32 | 272 | 371 | [29] | To be phased out by 2028 and replaced by Boeing 777X and Boeing 787-9. [14] [30] |
Boeing 747-8I | 19 | — | 8 | 80 | 32 | 244 | 364 | [31] | Largest operator of its type. [32] Includes D-ABYP, the 1,500th Boeing 747 built. [33] One painted in 1970s heritage livery. |
Boeing 777-9 | — | 20 [34] | TBA | Deliveries delayed, entry into service currently planned from summer 2026. [35] To replace Boeing 747-400. [36] | |||||
Boeing 787-9 | — | 34 [37] | — | 28 | 28 | 231 | 287 | [38] [39] [40] | To be delivered with Allegris interior from 2025. [41] To replace Airbus A330-300, Airbus A340-300 and Frankfurt-based A340-600. |
5 | — | 26 | 21 | 247 | 294 | [21] | Five taken over from a Hainan Airlines order, retaining their original interior configuration. [42] To be transferred to Austrian Airlines. [43] | ||
Total | 296 | 154 |
Over the years, Lufthansa had operated a variety of aircraft since 1955, including: [44]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A300B2-1C | 6 | 1976 | 1988 | |
Airbus A300B4-2C | 5 | 1977 | 1987 | |
Airbus A300-600R | 15 | 1987 | 2009 | |
Airbus A310-200 | 13 | 1983 | 1995 | Worldwide A310 launch customer alongside Swissair. |
Airbus A310-300 | 12 | 1989 | 2005 | |
Airbus A330-200 | 5 | 2002 | 2006 | |
Airbus A340-200 | 8 | 1993 | 2003 | Worldwide A340 launch customer alongside Air France. [45] |
Boeing 707-320B | 18 | 1963 | 1984 | Also used in cargo configuration. [44] One crashed as flight LH527 |
Boeing 707-320C | ||||
Boeing 707-420 | 5 | 1960 | 1977 | |
Boeing 720B | 8 | 1961 | 1965 | |
Boeing 727-100 | 27 | 1964 | 1979 | Also used in Quick Change version for cargo operations. [44] |
Boeing 727-200 | 30 | 1971 | 1993 | |
Boeing 737-100 | 22 | 1967 | 1982 | Launch customer of its type. |
Boeing 737-200 | 47 | 1969 | 1998 | Also used in Quick Change version for cargo operations. [44] |
Boeing 737-300 | 46 | 1986 | 2016 [46] | |
Boeing 737-400 | 7 | 1992 | 1998 | |
Boeing 737-500 | 33 | 1990 | 2016 [47] | |
Boeing 747-100 | 2 | 1970 | 1979 | Launch customer along with Pan Am |
1 | 1974 | Crashed as flight LH540 | ||
Boeing 747-200B | 7 | 1971 | 2004 | |
Boeing 747-200F | 4 | 1972 | 2005 | Worldwide launch customer of its type. |
Boeing 747-200M | 14 | 1976 | 2004[ citation needed ] | One displayed at Technik Museum Speyer. [48] |
Boeing 747-400M | 7 | 1989 | 2014 | |
Boeing 767-300ER | 1 | 1994 | 1995 | Leased from Condor. [49] |
2 | 2003 | 2004 | Leased from Lauda Air, operated wearing the Star Alliance livery.[ citation needed ] | |
Convair CV-340 Convair CV-440 | 9 | 1955 | 1968 | |
1 | 1966 | Crashed as flight LH005 | ||
Curtiss C-46 | 9 | 1964 | 1969 | |
Douglas DC-3 | 3 | 1955 | 1960 | |
1 | Chartered by Martinair.[ citation needed ] | |||
Douglas DC-4 | 1 | 1958 | 1959 | Leased as cargo aircraft.[ citation needed ] |
Douglas DC-8-51 | 1 | 1965 | 1966 | Leased from Trans International Airlines.[ citation needed ] |
Fokker F27 Friendship | 1 | Leased from Condor.[ citation needed ] | ||
Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation | 11 | 1955 | 1968 | |
1 | 1959 | Crashed as flight LH502 | ||
Lockheed L-1649A Starliner | 6 | 1957 | 1966 | |
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 12 | 1974 | 1994 | |
Vickers Viking | 2 | 1956 | 1961 | |
Vickers Viscount | 11 | 1958 | 1971 |
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with the A330 twinjet. In June 1987, Airbus launched both designs with their first orders and the A340-300 took its maiden flight on 25 October 1991. It was certified along with the A340-200 on 22 December 1992 and both versions entered service in March 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France. The larger A340-500/600 were launched on 8 December 1997; the A340-600 flew for the first time on 23 April 2001 and entered service on 1 August 2002.
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid-1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the A340 quadjet, and launched both designs along with their first orders in June 1987. The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered service with Air Inter in January 1994. The slightly shorter A330-200 variant followed in 1998 with Canada 3000 as the launch operator.
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m. In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers. Seven-abreast aircraft typically seat 160 to 260 passengers, eight-abreast 250 to 380, nine- and ten-abreast 350 to 480. The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m (20 ft) wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations.
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The initial A350 design proposed in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the Airbus A330 with composite wings and new engines. Due to inadequate market support, Airbus switched in 2006 to a clean-sheet "XWB" design, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB high bypass turbofan engines. The prototype first flew on 14 June 2013 from Toulouse, France. Type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was obtained in September 2014, followed by certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) two months later.
Singapore Airlines operates a predominantly widebody fleet, until the second re-introduction of the Boeing 737 in March 2021 following the merger with SilkAir. The airline also operates Boeing 747-400F and Boeing 777F freighters. As of April 2024, there were 160 aircraft registered in the Singapore Airlines fleet, comprising 149 passenger aircraft and 12 freighters.
Premium economy class, also known by brand names which vary by company, is a travel class offered on many airlines. It is usually positioned between standard economy class and business class in terms of price, comfort, and available amenities. On December 12, 1992, EVA Air introduced the Economy Deluxe Class on the inaugural flight of its first trans-Pacific route (TPE-LAX), becoming the first airline to offer this class of service. In some countries, this class has emerged as a response from governments and companies requiring economy class for travel done by staff, while still getting some benefits like airport priority.
The competition between Airbus and Boeing has been characterized as a duopoly in the large jet airliner market since the 1990s.
The Emirates fleet is composed of two wide-bodied aircraft families, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. The airline also has the Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777X and Boeing 787 aircraft on order.
A four-engined jet, sometimes called a quadjet, is a jet aircraft powered by four engines. The presence of four engines offers increased power and redundancy, allowing such aircraft to be used as airliners, freighters, and military aircraft. Many of the first purpose-built jet airliners had four engines, among which stands the De Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial jetliner. In the decades following their introduction, their use has gradually declined due to a variety of factors, including the approval of twin-engine jets to fly farther from diversion airports as reliability increased, and an increased emphasis on fuel efficiency.
First class is a travel class on some passenger airliners intended to be more luxurious than business class, premium economy, and economy class. Originally all planes offered only one class of service, with a second class appearing first in 1955 when TWA introduced two different types of service on its Super Constellations.
Qantas operates a fleet of Airbus A330, Airbus A380, Boeing 737 and Boeing 787 making a total of 125 aircraft. This list excludes subsidiaries Jetstar, QantasLink and Qantas Freight.
Air France operates a fleet of 223 aircraft, mostly Airbus aircraft. Its narrow-body fleet consists of all-four Airbus A320 family variants, on the other hand the wide-body aircraft of Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 serve as long-haul operations. The airline has also ordered the short-haul Airbus A220s to replace their aging Airbus A318s and Airbus A319s. In September 2023, Air France-KLM announced an additional order for 50 Airbus A350s to replace their Airbus A330s and their Boeing 777-200ERs.
British Airways operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It operates a single-aisle fleet of Airbus aircraft, including the Airbus A320-200 and the Airbus A320neo. It also operates a twin-aisle aircraft fleet of the Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and 787.
Etihad Airways operates a fleet of both narrow body and wide-body aircraft from five aircraft families Airbus A320 family, Airbus A320neo family, Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner totaling 96 aircraft as of 14 August 2024.
Virgin Atlantic operates a fleet consisting exclusively of wide-body twinjet aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing.
Philippine Airlines is composed of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from five families : Airbus A320ceo family, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, and Boeing 777.
Thai Airways International operates a fleet of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
Qatar Airways operates a fleet of both narrow body and widebody aircraft, using the Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 737 MAX, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 Dreamliner, totaling 256 aircraft.