Lufthansa Group Orders New Generation Aircraft

The Lufthansa Group is investing in the modernization of its fleet as the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG recently approved the purchase of 27 short- and medium-haul aircraft.

More specifically, purchase options for 24 Airbus A320neo and three A321neo will be converted into firm orders. The total investment of this order amounts to a list price of about $3 billion.

“With this decision, the Lufthansa Group is reacting to the positive market and earnings development and thus ensuring the necessary fleet size in the coming years,” the company said in an announcement.

This increases the total number of A320neo and A321neo orders to 149 for the Group. Thirteen of them are already operating with Lufthansa.

The A320neo and A321neo (short for “New Engine Option”) are scheduled for delivery in 2023 and 2024.

Ten of the 27 new aircraft are intended for SWISS, while the remaining aircraft will be in service by other flight operations within the aviation group.

One part of the order will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines (PW1100G), the other with LEAP-1A engines from CFM International. This means that both engine types will continue to be available to the Lufthansa Group in roughly equal proportions for the “neo” family.

The innovative engine technologies developed by Pratt & Whitney and CFM International as well as the aerodynamic wingtips (sharklets) with which the aircraft are equipped reduce fuel consumption significantly by up to 20 percent per seat kilometer.

As all Lufthansa A320 family aircraft, the A320neo and A321neo are serially equipped with noise-reducing vortex generators. An A320neo taking off has a noise carpet that is around 50 percent smaller than that of other aircraft of this type.