Lufthansa Shifts A350-900 To Frankfurt

a man standing next to a plane

Blaming aircraft delivery delays, Lufthansa is shifting six Munich-based Airbus A350-900 jets to its Frankfurt hub for the summer season.

Lufthansa A350-900 Will Operate Four Routes With Six Planes From Frankfurt Hub

Aircraft spotters will notice something unusual in Frankfurt in the months ahead: Airbus A350-900 aircraft operating longhaul flights. For strategic and economic purposes, these planes are typically based in Munich along with the A380-800, while the Boeing 747-8, 747-400, and the Airbus A340-300 are based in Frankfurt.

But that will change this summer due to aircraft delivery delays. As Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter explained:

“With the temporary deployment of A350 aircraft from Frankfurt, we are closing a gap caused by delayed aircraft deliveries.”

In fact, two destinations have already begun flying and two more will be added in May and July:

Seoul (ICN) – already flying
Shanghai (PVG) – already flying
Denver (DEN) – begins on May 1, 2025
Seattle (SEA) – begins on July 1, 2025

Lufthansa is on a buying spree when it comes to new airlines, but like its peers is experiencing delivery delays from both Airbus and Boeing. Ritter added, “Lufthansa’s state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft offer an improved travel experience from Frankfurt until new long-haul aircraft are delivered. Over the next 36 months, Lufthansa is expecting the largest fleet renewal in its history. By the end of 2027, 61 new aircraft are scheduled to be added to the fleet. This means an average of one new aircraft every two weeks.”

Currently, 30 A350-900 operate from Munich, with 14 more to be added by 2029.

Tip: A350 aircraft with the new Allegris cabin will be operated exclusively from Munich.

This Is Not The First Time We’ve Seen Lufthansa A350 In Frankfurt

In a different time for a different reason, we also saw Lufthasna A350s operate from Frankfurt. In fact, in 2020 my family and I flew from Los Angeles to Frankfurt on an A350-900. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lufhtansa “smart-sized” its longhaul fleet by grounding many of its larger capacity aircraft and focusing on a single plane type for the handful of longhaul flights that remained.

Even from Frankfurt, these flights were operated by Munich-based crews and I suspect the same is true this time as well.

CONCLUSION

Lufthansa is re-directing A350-900 jets to Frankfurt, blaming aircraft delivery delays for the move. This is a temporary move, but by July four routes from FRA will be operated by an A350, though none will have the new Allegris cabins onboard.

image: Lufthansa