Adapted From “Lufthansa Is Giving Boeing a Shot at New Wide-Body Deal” By Richard Weiss, Julie Johnsson, and Benjamin D Katz
Lufthansa, a Long-Haul Carrier based in Germany, has been looking at a possible new wide-body order. Lufthansa has requested proposals from both Airbus and Boeing and is looking to finalize an order of approximately 20 aircraft in the next few months. Lufthansa is also asking Airbus and Boeing to help the carrier get rid of its fuel-hungry A340’s which have been serving Long-Haul routes. While Airbus and Boeing generally do take back used jets, the A340’s are too outdated and difficult to resell that the possibility of a trade-in is unlikely.
The carrier currently operates the A320, A330, A340, A350, A380, B744, and their flagship B748. With orders for the 777-9. Recently the 777X order has come under scrutiny due to its sheer size and operational cost. Lufthansa is considering stretching the orders into the Mid 2020’s. The contract allows for Lufthansa to cancel 14 of the planes. Lufthansa is now paying the price for investing too little in its fleet. Left with a severely outdated and inefficient fleet. Now looking to modernize its fleet, things are looking bright for Lufthansa.
I love flying Lufthansa! Hopefully one day I can fly on their A350, B748, or A380. I’d love to fly the 777-9 with them too, but that’s years away.
When I heard they were considering the 787, I got a little shocked. They already have the magnificent A350, and I don’t see why they would stray from that. I guess only time can tell what will happen.
Nice report!
:)
Thanks, I too was shocked when they were considering the 787, based on their fleet I was thinking they would try and retire the 747’s and transition into an all airbus fleet. (for streamlining purposes).
Well, the A350xwb is based only at Munich, if they bought the 787 they could base it at Frankfurt or even base it at Hamburg and start long haul operations or even from Berlin
I think it’s relatively unlikely that they order the 787. It simply doesn’t fit Lufthansa’s fleet, the only reason could be that Boeing dropped the price a lot.
I wonder if the 777x will-like the 777- have a common type rating with the 787, if so then then buying the 787 isn’t gonna be that much of on inconvenience training wise in the long run when the 777x enters service
They won’t start operating from Hamburg, Düsseldorf or Berlin again. All operations from other airports than Frankfurt or Munich are operated by Eurowings since 2015 except of Düsseldorf-New York EWR which ends this December.
The 777X is a good choice because Lufthansa Technik already maintains Lufthansa Cargo’s 777F, the 787 would be a completely new aircraft type. The whole Lufthansa Group tries to have less variety in their fleet, so the 787 doesn’t make that much sense.
I think that the 787, would replace Lufthansa’s aging A330’s. The A330’s which were introduced in early 2004, have already reached approximately 14 years. 3 years over Lufthansa’s average fleet age, so the 787 would definitely fit right into the space created by the A330.
I think Lufthansa’s a330 aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and if they were they’d probably buy the a330neo since the acquisition costs and training costs are lower and Lufthansa’s a330 routes wouldn’t benefit that much from a 787
I’m pretty sure they won’t. Munich just got extended with the new satellite terminal, the new Berlin Brandenburg airport was planned in as a third hub but it’s already cancelled before the airport even opens. Eurowings enormously grows in terms of fleet and passengers, Lufthansa backed up to Frankfurt and Munich.
But the A350 and 787 are fundamentally different aircraft. I think that they should get rid of the A330’s and replace them with the 787. I don’t think they would go for the A330NEO’s.
I wouldn’t usually favor the A350 over the 787 but I actually am in this case. The reason towards my form of thinking is that the A350 has superior stats than the 787 (it hurts to say this). The fact that LH already has A350 also favors the aircraft the company, the staff and the overall efficiency of the corporation. If LH were to obtain the 787 they would have to train new pilots, new staff, new technicians etc which would increase costs. I do see Lufthansa operating the 777X yo replace many aircraft such as the older 747-400s and in the future…747-8is (noooooooooo). This isn’t my way of thinking but I would like to know what all the other people think.
787 is a different plane than the A350 and that could really benefit them. If LH ordered A359 to replace A343 and A333, the wide body fleet would be something like, A359, 779, 744, 748. The 787 compliments these aircraft perfectly.
The 788 allows them to operate into newer and smaller markets, something that has worked really well for BA. The 789 is a great replacement for the smaller Airbuses as they are smaller than A359 and also have great range and performance. The A359 is simply too big for many missions.
If they would need to enter smaller markets, they would use their Eurowings subsidiary.
I think the 787 worked for BA cause they didn’t have an aircraft around the same size of the 787, Lufthansa does. Their A330 or their Cityline A340 would do just fine
