Lufthansa Nearing Order For More Widebodies, CEO Says

Lufthansa is close to placing a follow-up order for new widebody aircraft with either Airbus or Boeing, according to CEO Carsten Spohr.

“We’re just at a final phase,” Spohr said at the Airlines for Europe (A4E) summit in Brussels on March 19. A decision is “a few weeks away probably.” Aircraft coming from this order “will be delivered in 2033.”

Lufthansa has outstanding orders for 21 Airbus A350-900s and 15 A350-1000s, 25 Boeing 787-9s and 27 777Xs. A large portion of its current in-service fleet is aging. At Lufthansa Airlines, the A340-600s are scheduled to leave the fleet after the 2026 summer season while the A340-300s and the 747-400s are expected to remain in service until after the summer of next year. Other group carriers are also due to phase out aging aircraft. Austrian Airlines plans to replace 777-200s and 767-300ERs. Meanwhile, Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) still operates A340s, similar to Lufthansa.

The replacements have been delayed because of the late arrival of the 777X, now planned for early 2027, as well as seat certification issues on the 787-9 fleet, among other factors.

Lufthansa recently sold two 747-8s for $400 million, which will serve as training aircraft in the U.S. Air Force One fleet. At the time, Spohr indicated that the airline could use the money to accelerate its widebody fleet renewal, a process that has gained more urgency because of the current steep spike in oil prices.

Spohr did not specify which models are under consideration, but the airline has more recently started to warm up again to the idea of flying a larger share of widebodies. The 747-8 fleet (17 aircraft) and the A380s (eight aircraft) are scheduled to remain in operation well into the 2030s.