Lufthansa Commits to a Maximum of 100 Boeing 737 MAX Jets

Out of the blue comes one massive order which will definitely have Boeing smiling and Airbus scratching its head. Lufthansa has placed a very large order for Boeing’s most successful single aisle jet, the 737. Let’s dwell into why this order is such a big deal.

In this post:

The details about the order
Boeing 737 making a return in Lufthansa’s fleet
What about Airbus?
The other Lufthansa Boeing orders

The Details of The Lufthansa Boeing 737 MAX Order

The order is quite the big one. We’ve see Lufthansa order wide body Boeing planes in recent years but this is the first narrow body order in quite some time.

Lufthansa has placed an order for 40 Boeing 737 MAX with an option to purchase further 60 units. All in all the German carrier has the possibility of acquiring up to 100 planes of the type.

At the moment the order and options to buy are exclusively for the Boeing 737-8 which is the mid sized MAX variant. The plane in a single class configuration for a legacy full service airline can seat approximately 180 passengers on a full load. Which coincidentally is the size and capacity range of the Airbus A320.

What About Airbus?

This is definitely an order that brought some nice big smiles to Boeing’s management. Lufthansa has long been an all Airbus narrow body operator. Therefore there must be some kind of worry on Airbus’ side to see its main competitor snatch a contract of this size and enter what had been so far its exclusive domain, the Lufthansa narrow body fleet.

Although the planes will arrive in the somewhat distant future, it is hard not to read some sort of dissatisfaction of worry concerning what happened with the PW GTF engines on the neo versions of the A320 and A321. It could be a wakeup call for Airbus to get its issues sorted fast with the engines on its new generation planes.

The Return of The Boeing 737 in Lufthansa’s Fleet

This order for up to 100 Boeing 737 MAX planes will mark the return of the aircraft type in the Lufthansa fleet. The German carrier operated the 737 classic series up to 2016 when it retired the last of its 737-300s. The last registrations of the type to leave the fleet were:

D-ABEC
D-ABEF
D-ABEH

So we’re just a few years away from the return of Boeing’s most successful aircraft with the German flag carrier.

Which Other Boeing Planes Does LH have on Order?

As I alluded to above, Lufthansa is no stranger to ordering Boeing planes. Although the airline hasn’t ordered a Boeing narrow body in ages it has been ordering wide body planes over the years from the American manufacturer. LH currently has on order: