On Thursday, Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, announced at an annual press conference that Lufthansa will base the first new Boeing 777-9 aircraft in Frankfurt. The Boeing 777-9 will replace Lufthansa’s aging Boeing 747-400 fleet. Lufthansa has ordered 20 of the new jets with the first delivery due in the second half of 2020. In November 2017 Lufthansa unveiled their new Business Class product, which will be introduced in the Boeing 777-9.
Spohr also announced that two additional Airbus A380-800s will be moved in Munich as of summer 2020. Lufthansa is currently using five Airbus A380-800s from their southern Germany hub, connecting Munich with Miami, Hong Kong
Lufthansa 777x
On Wednesday, the Lufthansa Group announced an order 40 more long-haul aircraft, increasing the order book to 72 long-haul planes.
Lufthansa 777x Business Class
Lufthansa seems less than hopeful for the delivery deadline of the Boeing 777-9. Carsten Spohr, the CEO of the airline, said that the airline would add the latest twin-engine aircraft to its fleet no earlier than in 2022. Lufthansa ordered 20 units of the 777-9 variant, the largest of the new model, while Emirates placed an original order for 150 aircraft, but it was reduced to 115 units at the end of 2019. Boeing launched the 777X program with the goal of offering a large-capacity widebody to be an alternative to four-engine aircraft such as the 747 and A380.
The Boeing 777-9 is the larger version in the new 777X family. It’s the newest family of twin-aisle airplanes that builds on the passenger-preferred and market-leading Boeing 777 and 787 families. The Boeing 777-9 has a length of 77 m (252 ft) and an extended wingspan of 72 m (236 ft). On the ground, the wings can be folded upwards to reduce the wingspan to only 65 m (213 ft). The range of the new aircraft is given to 14,075 km (7,600 nm) and the usual seat configuration in a two-class layout allows 400 to 425 seats according to Boeing.
Lufthansa will configure its 777-9 in a three-class layout with a Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class. According to Lufthansa, the new Business Class will feature between 30 and 45 seats. It has not yet published how many seats they will use in the other two classes.
Lufthansa 777x
Boeing 777 9
Lufthansa 777x Delivery
Featured image by Boeing/Lufthansa