Why have one special livery, when you can have a fleet of them – Lufthansa gets the paint buckets out for its 100th aniversary

In 2026, Lufthansa will celebrate a significant milestone – 100 years since the founding of the first Lufthansa in 1926.

How is the modern-day Lufthansa going to celebrate?

With paint. A lot of it, as they give some of their fleet a new look.

To mark this special occasion, the crane airline is taking off with a unique “anniversary fleet” that combines tradition and innovation in an impressive design.

The most important sub-fleets of Lufthansa will receive their own special livery in the iconic 100-year look: the blue fuselage will be adorned with a white crane whose wings merge into the wings.

In addition to the crane, a “100” is integrated on the left side of the fuselage and the lettering “1926 / 2026” on the right side. A “100” will also be visible on the underside of the aircraft.

What’s going to make up the fleet?

Leading the painted fleet will be the new Boeing 787-9 “Berlin” (to be registered as D-ABPU). This aircraft will be joining the fleet in December.

In addition, the airline is painting the following aircraft to join Berlin:

• An Airbus A380
• An Airbus A350-1000
• An Airbus A350-900
• An Airbus A320
• A Boeing 747-8

Older fleets such as the Airbus A340-600 and Boeing 747-400 are being skipped.

The aircraft will gradually be given the new design – the anniversary fleet is expected to be complete in the autumn of 2026.

Just don’t talk about Allegris…

Whilst this is all well and good (along with some of the other innovations Lufthansa are planning for its food and beverage services), Allegris is still way behind its installation schedule.

Originally meant to debut with the Boeing 777X in 2021, the first deployments have made out into both Munich (which has had a lot of the debuts)  and Frankfurt, even if certification has been a mess.

Sadly, supply chains and refits take time to complete, leading to a fragmented product – something that Lufthansa will have to manage its passengers’ expectations.

Hopefully, they’ll ensure their newest products are aboard this new subfleet. But you can never be too sure.

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