In 2023, Lufthansa Group placed an order for the Airbus A350-1000 — the order was initially for 10 frames, before being increased to 15 frames the following year. The Lufthansa Group is undergoing a massive long haul fleet modernization at the moment, with both Airbus and Boeing planes on the way.
Along those lines, the first Lufthansa A350-1000 will join the fleet in the coming weeks (in a dazzling livery no less), and we now have the exact details of the routes the plane will fly, how the plane will be configured, etc.
Lufthansa has 15 Airbus A350-1000s on order
Between late 2026 and 2030, Lufthansa intends to take delivery of 15 Airbus A350-1000s. This is only one of several aircraft types the airline is acquiring, as it’s also taking delivery of Airbus A350-900s, Boeing 787-9s, and (eventually) Boeing 777-9s.
The expectation is that the first A350-1000 will be delivered around mid-November 2026, with three more planes delivered in the following weeks, before the end of the year. This first plane even features the special 100th anniversary livery, as Lufthansa has seven of these flying, with one representing each fleet type.
The first plane has the registration code D-AIFA, and is named “Deutschland” (since Lufthansa names all of its planes). This is a special plane for another reason, as it will be the 700th aircraft that Airbus has delivered to Lufthansa Group. How gorgeous is this plane?!?
Here’s how Heiko Reitz, Lufthansa’s Hub Manager for Munich, describes this:
“We are proud that the Airbus A350-1000—Airbus’s most modern long-haul aircraft—is coming to Munich. The introduction of the new A350-1000 is part of the largest fleet modernization in the history of the Lufthansa Group and a key driver on the path to more sustainability. Our new flagship features 40 percent more Business and Premium Economy seats. To put it simply: The A350-1000 strengthens our premium hub in Munich.”
On a slight tangent, over the summer I saw the 100th anniversary Boeing 747-8 in Frankfurt (FRA), and I must say, I think it might be the most breathtaking plane in commercial service. Is it just me?
Lufthansa A350-1000s will have 300 seats in four cabins
We’ve known that the Airbus A350-1000s will get the new Allegris cabins, including the new Allegris first class and Allegris business class. So, what can we expect in terms of the configuration? The A350-1000 will feature 300 seats, spread across four cabins, as follows:
- Four first class seats (well, 3.5, really)
- 49 business class seats
- 35 premium economy seats
- 212 economy class seats
As a point of comparison, the A350-900s (the non-stretched version of the plane) features 267 seats, as follows:
- Four first class seats
- 38 business class seats
- 24 premium economy seats
- 201 economy class seats
So the stretched version has 11 more business class seats, 11 more premium economy seats, and 11 more economy seats (11 more seats across three cabins, what a funny coincidence). The airline is still maintaining only one row of first class, which is kind of “bleh.”
You can find the Lufthansa A350-1000 seat map here.
Lufthansa A350-1000 will be based in Munich
Lufthansa Airbus A350-1000s will be based in Munich (MUC), which is where Lufthansa bases all of its A350s. The expectation is that the first plane will enter long haul commercial service as of early December 2026.
Specifically, as of December 3, 2026, the A350-1000 will fly between Munich and Tokyo Haneda (HND), with the next two destinations being Shanghai (PVG) and Singapore (SIN), and those services expected to launch within weeks.
Note that initially the flights won’t be operated by the A350-1000 daily, so there will be alternating service with the A350-900. It’s interesting that the initial route isn’t to North America, where a single plane could do a same day turn, and continuously stay in service. but I guess there’s enough commonality between the A350-900 and A350-1000, so it’s not a big deal.
As far as US destinations go, it’s expected that Chicago (ORD) and Newark (EWR) will be the first two cities to see the new plane, though there’s no exact timeline for that yet.
Bottom line
In 2023, Lufthansa placed an order for the Airbus A350-1000, and the first of these planes is expected to be delivered in mid-November 2026, entering service in early December 2026. The plane will feature 300 seats across four cabins, though still only expect one row of first class seats. The Munich-based plane will initially fly to Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore.
I must say, Lufthansa knocked it out of the park with its centennial livery, and I can’t wait to see this plane flying.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s upcoming Airbus A350-1000 deliveries?
Anyone who advocates for the retirement of the Queen should be banned from commenting on this blog.
/s
here here
EWR before JFK? EWR I see the logic as it is United's hub but JFK-MUC was flown by A380s in summer months before this year but the new JFK Terminal 6 won't have A380 capable gates so was thinking A350-1000 would bridge gap between A350-900 and A380.
EWR over JFK.
Good point, . . . BUT from economics EWR just makes more sense! ESPECIALLY in the winter season while ALL airlines flying to the US (for obvious reasons) from Europe struggle to fill their planes with full fare paying passengers, EWR with not a "dead-end" final destination due to the UA hub, JFK needs demand too, especially at LH mainline with not the greatest calculations in the aviation industry!
Of...
EWR over JFK.
Good point, . . . BUT from economics EWR just makes more sense! ESPECIALLY in the winter season while ALL airlines flying to the US (for obvious reasons) from Europe struggle to fill their planes with full fare paying passengers, EWR with not a "dead-end" final destination due to the UA hub, JFK needs demand too, especially at LH mainline with not the greatest calculations in the aviation industry!
Of course, JFK always preferred on a personal basis too, but from LH perspective it does make sense to use on EWR vs. JFK.
In terms of economics the bigger variant makes total sense to STAR hubs, which is the majority of the deployed routes!
As we all know, LH mainline is in deep financial trouble! Least said, 1 big Cargo guy from Germany actually saved that carrier and heavily criticized it's head of operations, that alone tells a lot of the financial situation of that carrier! ;-)
To their luck, the German government was on Lufthansa's side, otherwise they would still have to fight and compete against airberlin these days. That airline NEEDS every possible penny they can save!
Regarding the livery; Ben I think the world of you but...... IMHO it's ugly.
Would love to see more of the retro Starliner 1960 livery.
Just saying.
Yet another airline gets their 350-1000 before Delta.
Lufthansa order their first batch of A350-1000s in March of 2023, Delta ordered their A350-1000s in January 2024, a full 10 months after LH. Yes Lufthansa will take delivery of their first A350-1000s before Delta because they were in line before Delta.
Lufthansa expected delivery of their first A350-1000 in early 2025, but because of Airbus delivery delays they won't receive their first A350-1000 until late Q3 of this year. Meanwhile Delta was supposed...
Lufthansa order their first batch of A350-1000s in March of 2023, Delta ordered their A350-1000s in January 2024, a full 10 months after LH. Yes Lufthansa will take delivery of their first A350-1000s before Delta because they were in line before Delta.
Lufthansa expected delivery of their first A350-1000 in early 2025, but because of Airbus delivery delays they won't receive their first A350-1000 until late Q3 of this year. Meanwhile Delta was supposed to take delivery of its first A350-1000 this year. They now expect their first A350-1000 to be delivered at some point in Q2 of 2027.
please stop being retárded, they ordered them before Delta
that euro white thrash livery is awful.
LOL. You have a way with words...
LH should make its centennial livery the standard livery.
It is gorgeous.
They'd never do it, and (unfortunately) understandably so: the weight difference is significant.
When ANZ had their all-black livery, the weight difference on a 777, just from the extra paint, was 182kg (400lbs) per aircraft, and also required extra (expensive) layers to prevent solar bleaching.
Doesn't seem like much, until you realize that between 15 aircraft, flying even only 1 round-trip per day: that'd be 1,993 tonnes of deadweight being hoisted into the air annually,...
They'd never do it, and (unfortunately) understandably so: the weight difference is significant.
When ANZ had their all-black livery, the weight difference on a 777, just from the extra paint, was 182kg (400lbs) per aircraft, and also required extra (expensive) layers to prevent solar bleaching.
Doesn't seem like much, until you realize that between 15 aircraft, flying even only 1 round-trip per day: that'd be 1,993 tonnes of deadweight being hoisted into the air annually, in exchange for no direct revenue.
Which is why nearly all large airlines use mostly Euro-white.
A380 as well
I don't understand why they're not going up to 2 rows of first, hopefully they don't make that same decision on the 777X.
It's not 'just you,' Ben. That 100th anniversary Boeing 747-8 in Frankfurt is lookin' fiiine.
"The 747-8s will probably leave as well or convert to freighters."
Very doubtful that any will ever be converted. Who's going to pay for a conversion certification, with so few passenger models to spread the cost of doing so over? Remember that Korean has already pre-sold several of theirs to the US government.
More than likely, passenger 747-8 units will either be flown for the duration of their service life because they're such odd...
"The 747-8s will probably leave as well or convert to freighters."
Very doubtful that any will ever be converted. Who's going to pay for a conversion certification, with so few passenger models to spread the cost of doing so over? Remember that Korean has already pre-sold several of theirs to the US government.
More than likely, passenger 747-8 units will either be flown for the duration of their service life because they're such odd balls (similar to the 767-400), or they'll be sold as VIP jets, or scrapped early to gain common parts for the existing freighters out there.
dimwit,
Delta IS the largest Airbus operator in the world.
So they have that going for them.
and Airbus does a pretty good job of delivering jets to Delta on time.
Aer Lingus has its shiny new A321XLRs
Broken seat are the least of your worries with Brussels airlines. It's the crew you should be worried about.
what a predictable response from you, Tim.
You make a fake claim, then accuse your imaginary accusers of being in denial. Then when asked who's ever suggested that Airbus is NOT benefitting from Boeing's issues, you go on your usual dumb attacks against me because you realized you said something stupid with no backup and got called out on it.
And personal attacks? lol. funny after reading the way you reply to me. But...
what a predictable response from you, Tim.
You make a fake claim, then accuse your imaginary accusers of being in denial. Then when asked who's ever suggested that Airbus is NOT benefitting from Boeing's issues, you go on your usual dumb attacks against me because you realized you said something stupid with no backup and got called out on it.
And personal attacks? lol. funny after reading the way you reply to me. But I'm always happy to remind others how delta fired you and multiple websites have banned you.
You desperately need attention from unknown strangers and turn angry when you're reminded of your own sad past.
But again. Who has ever suggested Airbus is NOT benefitting from Boeing's issues? Of course Airbus is benefitting from them.
You'd do better to just apologize for a stupid statement and creating a fake anger pillar that doesn't exist.
But, as always, I'm flattered by the amount of time you take to reply to me ;)
Peace on the interwebs would be wonderful
Wishing everybody the best for the holidays.
Ah. Now it all makes sense. That cup of coffee that costs a dollar will purchase new planes. LOL That's a lot of cups of coffee to buy a new plane. LMAO
Brussels Airlines A330s are already in bad shape. You are guaranteed to find at least 2-3 J seats blocked off on every flight because of an issue with the seat. I avoid them like the plague even though I live in Brussels.
Who has ever suggested Airbus is not benefitting from Boeing's issues?
the only thing that is "per usual" is that
1. you have a compulsive need to jump into any discussion in which I participate
2. you take the same ideas that I present and create a platform based on lies just so you can argue (who said anything about anger?)
3. You resort to personal attacks when you invariably lose the...
Who has ever suggested Airbus is not benefitting from Boeing's issues?
the only thing that is "per usual" is that
1. you have a compulsive need to jump into any discussion in which I participate
2. you take the same ideas that I present and create a platform based on lies just so you can argue (who said anything about anger?)
3. You resort to personal attacks when you invariably lose the business discussion.
Of course LH is ordering more A350s to hedge its bets against further 777X delays. Most global airlines are well into strategies to offset Boeing's production and certification issues. AA and UA are by far the largest airlines that have been unable to meaningfully offset Boeing's delays with new orders that come close to offsetting Boeing delivery delays.
LH operates a complex fleet because of the money it generates from servicing so many types of aircraft and engines - similar to DL. LH already ordered the 350 and is simply adding on to those orders.
It really isn't hard to see but I will bet my last dollar that Max will feel a need to jump in and argue.
@NateNate
Hail the Queen!
As always, Brussels will get nothing — and I suspect ITA will get nothing either. In fairness, ITA has a heck of a lot of new Airbus planes: the A220-100 and -300, the A320neo and A321neo, the A330-900neo and the A350-900. It will be ages before Brussels (or Aer Lingus) operates a widebody aircraft other than the A330 — and even then it’s likely...
As always, Brussels will get nothing — and I suspect ITA will get nothing either. In fairness, ITA has a heck of a lot of new Airbus planes: the A220-100 and -300, the A320neo and A321neo, the A330-900neo and the A350-900. It will be ages before Brussels (or Aer Lingus) operates a widebody aircraft other than the A330 — and even then it’s likely to be the even older A340.
Starlux is the only other airline I can think of with so many new Airbus planes, but the A321neo is its only narrowbody, and the A220 is known to be successful only in North America and Europe, not Asia.
Who has ever suggested Airbus is not benefitting from Boeing's issues?
Per usual, Tim, you seem to be creating a false pillar to get angry about and then trying to accuse imaginary people of being in denial.
What is ITA getting? My money is on a fleet of A320s that can hop over the Alps and feed into LHG's German-speaking hubs.
Also, what happens to the 747-8s?
Correct. However, LH not seeing that the various versions of the Allegris seats received certification is *ultimately* on LH and not Boeing. The seats were perhaps better named Patiens.
Wouldn't it have been a good idea for Lufthansa to have ordered end of the line 77Ws while they wait for the 777X mess to get sorted out?! I mean they already operate 77Fs (through cargo). They could have retired the 744s already like everyone else if they had 77Ws.
Clever planning. A day after it got out that Allegris on the B789 is dead then positive news so people might forget the drama that is Allegris.
There's no question.
This is ridiculous. Everyone knows the real party benefiting from Boeing's problems is Delta.
Anyone that thinks that Airbus is not benefiting from Boeing’s problems is in denial
They really needed to do this. The 779 orders are not sufficient and the 747-400 fleet has to be replaced along with many A330-300s and the remaining A340s. The 747-8s will probably leave as well or convert to freighters.
450 seats in Y
Delivered just in time for the Allegris seats getting certified, or maybe not!? Really, how is Carsten Spohr still in a job?