Lufthansa Expands Fleet with Four Pre-Owned Airbus A350-900 Aircraft

The Lufthansa Group has announced that it will add four additional Airbus passenger jets to its fleet.

Details of the purchase were shared by the German airliner on May 23, 2023.

According to Lufthansa the four Airbus A350-900s will be acquired from aircraft asset management firm, Deucalion Aviation.

The planes are expected to be delivered to the Lufthansa Group by the end of 2023.

The four new Airbus 350-900 aircraft, registered as N285BN, N286BN, N287BN, N264AR, were previously owned by LATAM Airlines Brazil, a subsidiary of the LATAM Airlines Group.

According to ch-aviation.com data, all four ex-LATAM Airlines Brazil A350s exited the carrier’s fleet sometime in 2021 and Deucalion Aviation took ownership of the aircraft

LATAM Airlines Brazil took delivery of the aircraft, now registered as N285BN, N286BN, N287BN, and N264AR, in May 2016, August 2016, December 2016, and December 2019, respectively.

It is not the first time Lufthansa has welcomed second-hand Airbus A350-900s into its fleet.

According to the airline’s 2022 annual report, since “many airlines cancelled orders at short notice and terminated leases ahead of schedule” during the pandemic, the market had “an increased range of modern aircraft available at attractive conditions and subject to short delivery periods”.

As such, Lufthansa welcomed five Boeing 787-9 from a canceled order and four Airbus A350-900s from a lease that was terminated early.

“These orders benefited from favorable purchase prices and low lease rates as well as short delivery times. All four A350-900 aircraft were delivered in the first six months of 2022, while two 787-9s were delivered in the second half of 2022,” the report continued.

All four Airbus A350-900s welcomed by Lufthansa in H1 2022 were former Philippines Airlines aircraft, according to ch-aviation.com data.

Lufthansa currently operates 21 Airbus A350-900s and has ordered five more A350-900s and 10 A350-1000s as recently as March 2023.

In total, Lufthansa holds 38 firm orders for this highly efficient Airbus long-haul aircraft, making it the world’s third-largest Airbus A350 customer.