Lufthansa Group has taken delivery of its 600th Airbus aircraft, an A321neo, complete with a special livery to celebrate the occasion.
The airline group, which includes the likes of Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss International Air Lines, took delivery of its 600th Airbus aircraft on May 24, 2023. The Airbus A321neo, registered as D-AEIQ and named after the German city of Münster, was revealed in a special ceremony with a livery to mark the occasion at Airbus Hamburg-Finkenwerder or Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW).
The special livery includes the text ‘600th Airbus aircraft’ on the side of the fuselage.
Carsten Spohr, Chairman of Lufthansa, 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.” Sphor noted that, throughout the history of the two companies, the German airline group has been a launch customer for many of Airbus’ aircraft, including the A320neo.
“Lufthansa has ordered every family of aircraft that Airbus has developed over the past five decades. And more than 90 percent of the 600 Airbuses that we have taken delivery of during that time are still in Lufthansa Group service today,” Spohr added. The Lufthansa Group plans to take delivery of its 700th Airbus aircraft in 2026.
Meanwhile, Guillaume Faury, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airbus, said that no other airline group has taken delivery of more aircraft than Lufthansa to date.
“My particular thanks, on behalf of everyone at Airbus, go to all the teams at Lufthansa for all their confidence and trust. We look forward to the next 50 years of our partnership and our shared commitment to the goal of sustainable air travel,” Faury remarked.
Lufthansa’s relationship with Airbus began back in 1975, when it ordered three Airbus A300B2 aircraft. The manufacturer delivered the first A300B2 on February 9, 1976. The German airline group has served as the launch customer for four different Airbus aircraft: the A310, A340, A220, and the A320neo, becoming the first carrier to operate the respective types.
Lufthansa, the main airline of the group, has operated various Airbus aircraft, totaling 430 units. Of these, 279, including inactive aircraft, are currently assigned to the German carrier, according to ch-aviation.com data. Meanwhile, Austrian Airlines currently has 37 Airbus aircraft (33 of which it had previously retired), Brussels Airlines has 42 (24 retired), and Swiss International Air Lines has 81, having retired 56 Airbus aircraft throughout its history.
The Lufthansa Group also includes airlines such as Euworings plus its subsidiaries, and Lufthansa Cargo, a cargo-only carrier. Additionally, Swiss International Air Lines has a leisure travel-focused airline called Edelweiss Air.
On May 23, 2023, Lufthansa announced that it will take delivery of four second-hand Airbus A350-900 aircraft during 2023, further cementing its title as the largest operator of the Airbus A350 aircraft globally.