Luxair, the national airline of Luxembourg, has just placed an order for its largest aircraft yet.
Luxair adding Boeing 737 MAX 10 to fleet
Luxair has just placed an order for up to four Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, including two firm orders and two options. For context, the 737 MAX 10 is the largest variant of Boeing’s popular 737. It has the best economics of any single aisle jet, and should reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions by 20%, compared to the aircraft that it replaces. The catch is that this particular jet hasn’t yet been certified, given Boeing’s issues with regulators.
Luxair plans to configure its Boeing 737 MAX 10s with a minimum of 30″ of seat pitch, with up to 213 seats. The plane will be able to operate routes of up to 3,100 nautical miles, resulting in more capacity and range to capitalize on growing leisure travel demand.
Here’s how Luxair CEO Gilles Feith describes this order:
“The purchase of the 737-10 is another step towards Luxair positioning for its future with the investment in the latest airplane technology that will support Luxair’s growth plans and the decarbonization of our fleet. There is high commonality between the 737 MAX models, and this allows for significant operational savings for the airline.”
“In addition to reducing overall fuel use and emissions, the 737 MAXs will help create a 50 percent smaller noise footprint by reducing noise generated by takeoffs and landings at Luxembourg Airport.”
How the Boeing 737 MAX 10 fits into Luxair’s fleet
Luxair has been doing quite a bit to refresh its fleet as of late. Luxair’s fleet currently consists of 21 aircraft, comprised of:
- 11 De Havilland Dash 8s
- Four Boeing 737-700s
- Four Boeing 737-800s
- Two Boeing 737 MAX 8s
On top of that, the airline now has firm orders for 14 more aircraft, comprised of:
- Four Boeing 737 MAX 7s
- Four Boeing 737 MAX 8s
- Two Boeing 737 MAX 10s
- Four Embraer E195-E2s
As you can see, the airline has plans to modernize and grow its fleet, and that Embraer E195-E2 order came recently, in late 2023. Presumably the plan is for the 737 MAXs to replace the existing 737s, but that still leaves significant excess capacity.
Meanwhile I imagine the Embraer E195-E2s will partly replace the Havilland Dash 8s. I think the big question is whether Luxair will keep flying turboprops in the future, or if those will eventually be retired, since there aren’t really more modern versions of those?
I’m a little conflicted on Luxair’s fleet strategy here. On the one hand, the airline will have the great ability to match capacity to demand. On the other hand, the airline is all over the place here, with plans to have just two to six frames of four different aircraft.
Yes, there’s of course fleet commonality between the 737 MAX variants in terms of crew training. But still, this makes it difficult to deal with irregular operations, and to optimize schedule planning.
Bottom line
Luxair has placed an order for four Boeing 737 MAX 10s, with two firm orders and two options. This is the largest aircraft that Luxair has ordered to date, and it complements the 737 MAX 7s and 737 MAX 8s that Luxair also has on order. On top of that, the airline has also ordered Embraer E195-E2s.
Luxair will certainly have the ability to match capacity to demand in the future, though it’s coming at the cost of a simple fleet.
What do you make of Luxair’s Boeing 737 MAX 10 order?
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