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Lufthansa Unveils Centennial Livery on First Airbus A350-1000 Set for Munich Hub
Marking its 100th year, Lufthansa debuts a special centennial livery on its inaugural Airbus A350-1000, the 700th aircraft in its fleet, preparing for service at Munich with advanced cabin seating.
The gist
Lufthansa introduces its centennial livery on the first Airbus A350-1000 to join its Munich fleet, featuring new cabins and the 700th aircraft milestone.
Continuing coverage
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In celebration of its centennial year, Lufthansa has unveiled a special commemorative livery on the first Airbus A350-1000 airframe destined for its fleet. This aircraft marks a dual milestone as the 700th operated by the airline and will be based at Munich starting next fall. The distinctive paint scheme features elements honoring Lufthansa's 100 years of continuous operation, reinforcing the carrier's stature as one of the world's leading aviation groups.
The announcement comes as Lufthansa continues to modernize and expand its long-haul fleet. The Airbus A350-1000 represents the latest generation of widebody aircraft, optimized for fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. Lufthansa plans to operate 15 of these advanced jets, with deliveries scheduled through 2030, indicating a sustained commitment to renewing its fleet with state-of-the-art technology.
This flagship A350-1000 joins Lufthansa's long-haul network with a four-class cabin layout. The aircraft is configured with the new Allegris seats, designed to enhance passenger comfort across all classes while accommodating up to 300 travelers per flight. Powered by twin Rolls-Royce engines, the jet blends performance with operational efficiency, aligning with Lufthansa's goals to offer a modern and environmentally conscious service.
Currently registered as F-WZNY under the manufacturer’s callsign, the aircraft will be re-registered in Germany as D-AIFA ahead of its entry into service. It carries the name Deutschland, a nod to Lufthansa's German heritage and its national identity. This naming tradition reflects the airline's long-standing practice of linking its aircraft to German cities and landmarks.
The centennial livery itself has been gradually introduced across Lufthansa’s fleet in 2026, starting last December with a Boeing 787-9. It was later applied to a Boeing 747-8i, setting the stage for the latest addition on the Airbus A350-1000. Each application seeks to blend Lufthansa’s traditional colors with modern design elements that celebrate the airline's rich history and future ambitions.
Painting an airliner like the A350-1000 involves overcoming complex technical challenges. Designers must account for critical flight components and added weight constraints, resulting in a specialized aircraft repainting industry. Lufthansa’s investment in such liveries underscores the symbolic weight these aircraft hold as flying ambassadors for the brand, especially during landmark occasions.
The A350-1000's arrival to Munich will enhance Lufthansa's operational capabilities at one of its key bases. This city remains a strategic hub for the carrier’s expanding long-haul routes, providing connections across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Integrating new aircraft with advanced cabins will help Lufthansa maintain competitive service standards in premium travel markets.
Lufthansa’s sustained procurement of the Airbus A350-1000 complements its mix of Boeing and Airbus widebodies, reflecting a diversified fleet strategy that balances capacity, range, and fuel efficiency. The airline’s ability to leverage multiple aircraft types allows it to tailor aircraft deployment to route demands while managing overall operational costs.
With the first centennial livery Airbus A350-1000 ready for service, Lufthansa sets a symbolic and technological benchmark as it moves beyond a century in the skies. The milestone aircraft encapsulates the airline’s legacy of innovation, passenger comfort, and global connectivity as it steps into its next chapter.
Frequently asked questions
- How many Airbus A350-1000 aircraft has Lufthansa ordered?
- Lufthansa has ordered 15 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with deliveries planned through to 2030.
- What is special about the livery on Lufthansa’s first A350-1000?
- The first A350-1000 features a special livery commemorating Lufthansa's 100th anniversary, highlighting the centennial celebration on selected fleet aircraft.
- Where will Lufthansa base its first Airbus A350-1000?
- The first Airbus A350-1000 is scheduled to be based at Lufthansa’s Munich hub starting in the fall.
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Lufthansa Debuts 787-9 Allegris Business Class with Mixed Results on Soft Product
Hello from Germany, as I just flew Lufthansa's new Boeing 787-9 Allegris business class on the 9hr25min flight from Austin (AUS) to Frankfurt (FRA), kicking off what should be a very fun trip . While this was my first flight on Lufthansa's new purpose-built Dreamliner , it was my second flight in Allegris business class , as I had also flown the product on the Airbus A350-900 . The added twist here is that Lufthansa recently rolled out its new "FOX" business class soft product , so I was looking forward to experiencing the new catering, amenities, etc. How is the Lufthansa long haul business class experience, when you combine Allegris and FOX? Well, it's solid. It's a huge improvement over the old product, and it's competitive with what other airlines offer. It's nothing that's going to blow anyone away, though. When it comes to the new meal service, I got the distinct impression that the changes are much bigger when departing from Germany rather than an outstation, because I still found the catering to be sort of lackluster. Anyway, while I'll have a full trip report soon, I'd like to share some initial impressions on the experience. Lufthansa's 787 Allegris business class seats are pretty good Lufthansa's Boeing 787-9s with Allegris cabins are equipped with 28 business class seats, spread across nine rows, in an alternating 1-2-1 and 1-1-1 configuration. Lufthansa promotes how Allegris business class offers customers a lot of choice, because there are so many different seating types to choose from. Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class cabin That's of course a double edged sword, as there's a fee to assign most types of seats, and on top of that, your experience will differ massively based on which seat you end up in. Furthermore, if you're traveling with someone, there are literally no seats next to one another, except the pair of front row seats, which you have to pay a lot extra for. I'll talk more about the best Allegris business class seat assignment strategy in a separate post. Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class cabin Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class seats On the plus side, I think the cabin is pretty spiffy-looking overall, and I do prefer being in business class when there's not a first class cabin (which is a benefit of the 787 over the A350), in terms of service, lavatory access, etc. I ended up in one of the "privacy" window seats, and to Lufthansa's credit, this is actually quite a spacious seat, both when lounging around and when in bed mode. Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class seat Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class seat Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class seat The tech is obviously solid, with USB-A, USB-C, AC, and wireless charging, a crisp seat back monitor, and bluetooth audio. Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class seat features But it's the little aspects of the experience I don't understand. I found the seat to be extremely hard, and while in theory you can control the firmness of the seat, I found there to be very little change. Fortunately there's a mattress pad, which helps. Furthermore, there are no individual air nozzles, and while the A350 has seat cooling, I didn't notice that feature on this plane (but maybe I just couldn't find it)? Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class seat tablet Lufthansa's 787 Allegris business class entertainment & Wi-Fi are solid Lufthansa's Allegris business class entertainment system is quite easy to use, and there's a good variety of movies and TV shows, along with the map feature, and even an external nose camera. So I had no issues staying entertained. Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class entertainment Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class entertainment The plane also has Panasonic Wi-Fi. The speeds weren't great, and perhaps what I found strangest is the bait and switch pricing, which is obviously a glitch — the page shows a price of 25 EUR, but then the payment page asks for 29 EUR. That obviously shouldn't happen. These planes should get Starlink Wi-Fi eventually , which will be great. Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class Wi-Fi pricing Lufthansa 787 Allegris business class Wi-Fi pricing Lufthansa's new business class amenities are much improved Lufthansa recently overhauled its soft product, so what all has changed in business class? Well, in addition to the new business class pillow and blanket that the airline has long offered, there's also a mattress pad, which is well padded, and useful, especially given how hard the seats are. Lufthansa business class pillow & blanket Lufthansa business class mattress pad There are also slippers, handy for going to the lavatory. Lufthansa business class slippers Then there's the 100th anniversary amenity kit, with all the basics, plus a couple of products from BABOR. Lufthansa business class amenity kit There were also loungewear tops handed out, from van Laack, similar to what you'll find in first class, minus the bottoms. Lufthansa business class loungewear Before landing, all passengers were offered a box of chocolates with Lufthansa branding, a nice goodbye touch. Lufthansa business class chocolates Lufthansa has definitely put some effort into improving its business class experience, and addressing some of the previous shortfalls, so kudos to the airline for that. Lufthansa's new business class catering was a miss on this flight Okay, so this topic is sort of rough. Just days before taking this flight, I flew Lufthansa's old business class across the Atlantic in the other direction, originating in Germany. I didn't review the flight since we were traveling with two little kids, and that's a handful, and I figured I'd review the new soft product on this flight. When I flew out of Frankfurt, I was super impressed by the new catering, and thought the difference in quality was huge. Meanwhile when departing Austin, I didn't at all find that to be the case, unfortunately. So, what's the meal service like on this flight? Before takeoff I was offered a welcome drink (I chose the signature Avionic cocktail), which was served with some packaged nuts. When departing Germany, they're instead served in a classier bag. No biggie, I'm just pointing out the minor differences. Lufthansa business class pre-departure drink & nuts After takeoff, service began with a carrot yuzu, edamame, sesame, and ginger, amuse bouche, which was a nice touch. Lufthansa business class amuse bouche There were then three appetizer choices, and I opted for the beef tenderloin with horseradish cream, honey soy, and pickled vegetables. This was automatically served with an heirloom tomato and cucumber tartare with black garlic, a nice twist on the typical salad. Then there was a selection of bread, plus a cauliflower miso dip with edamame. Lufthansa business class appetizer For the main course, I opted for the seafood stew, with shrimp, monkfish, mussels, tomato, zucchini, and yukon potato. I'm sorry, but this was bad in every way. The portion was tiny, the seafood was chewy, there was barely any "stew," and the presentation was awful. Lufthansa business class main course Admittedly before I ordered it, I wondered how they'd be able to do a good job essentially pulling off a bouillabaisse. And the answer is that they can't, so maybe they shouldn't have it on the menu? Again, let me emphasize that when departing Germany, I found the new catering to be great, including the presentation. Then for dessert, there was the choice of fruit, cheese, and/or dessert, and I had the fruit plus dessert, which was a chocolate mousse with strawberry. Lufthansa business class dessert Breakfast was then served before landing. Lufthansa now has little menu cards it gives you to fill out before going to sleep, with your order. Lufthansa business class breakfast card There were three options, and I opted for the spinach egg cake, as it was described, but that's not really what I'd call this. Instead, it was just gross (presumably) powdered srambled eggs with some spinach in t
Lufthansa Locks Business Class Lavatory During Meal Service for Catering Space
While not particularly significant, and while there's nothing wrong with this, here's something I find interesting. Lufthansa recently improved its business class catering, and as a result, the airline is now blocking a business class lavatory during the meal service on some planes. It's funny, because I just flew Lufthansa's new Allegris business class on the 787 (more on that soon), and I noticed something was up with the lavatory. At the same time, aeroTELELGRAPH published a story explaining what's going on. Lufthansa's upgraded catering leads to downgraded bathroom options In addition to Lufthansa's new Allegris cabins , Lufthansa also recently overhauled its entire onboard soft product, with what's being referred to as "FOX." Among other things, this includes improvements in the business class meal service, including a lot more effort being put into presentation. Rather than all dishes just being "nuked" in the oven and looking like they fell off a truck, the crew puts more effort into plating, garnishes, etc. As you'd expect, that takes a bit of effort, and galley space can be limited. That brings us to what I find noteworthy. Lufthansa has confirmed that "on a few aircraft types – including the Boeing 787 – one of the two toilets in Business Class will be closed during preparations for the first service." The logic here is that the forward galley on the Dreamliner isn't huge, and there is a lavatory up there. The crews have little carts they place in the galley so they can work on properly plating the dishes, and there's really not room for people to be navigating around them, without getting in the way of their workflow, and slowing down the service. Apparently this plating required a lot of effort? 😉 I knew something was up with the Dreamliner lavatory! I tend to notice the little details of the passenger experience, even the most minor things. After all, I've flown a massive number of airlines in premium cabins, and it's the little details that set airlines apart. I just flew the Lufthansa 787 with Allegris cabins, and there are two lavatories behind the business class cabin, and one in front. It seemed like one of the rear ones may have been intended for premium economy, or something, as it wasn't clear (this is supported by Lufthansa claiming that one of two business class lavatories is blocked). After takeoff I tried to go to the forward lavatory, and as I walked up, the crew asked me to use the lavatory in the back. I thought that was odd at first, since the lavatory sign indicated it was unoccupied. However, as soon as I walked back, the forward lavatory showed as occupied, and stayed that way throughout the service (in other words, they locked it). As you can imagine, this made me wonder about the logic for this policy, and now I know! Personally, I don't have an issue with this. Most people tend to not use the lavatory during the meal service, for obvious reasons. So having fewer lavatories available shouldn't be an issue. For what it's worth, the airline claims it hasn't received any complaints about this policy. Lufthansa is blocking some business class lavatories Bottom line Lufthansa recently rolled out its new soft product on long haul flights, which includes improved catering in business class. This largely centers around the crew putting more effort into plating and presentation, and that takes time… and space. In light of that, Lufthansa crews are now blocking one of the lavatories in business class on some aircraft, so that they have more space to work in the galley. Much of the effort that goes into presentation doesn't happen on galley counters, but instead, happens on carts that are set up in the galley, so I understand why they need more space. Anyway, in case you're like me and wonder why the forward lavatory is blocked during the meal service (as I just noticed on a flight), now you know!
Airbus A380 Outflies Boeing 747-8 by Nearly 90% in 2026 Flight Operations
Although the era of quadjets is coming to an end, with no four-engined aircraft currently in production, there are still a considerable number of these jets flying around the world. The last-generation quadjets include the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8 . These two aircraft types are scheduled to operate over 94 thousand passenger flights cumulatively during the 2026 calendar year.
Delta Offers $17.34 Business Class Upgrade on 15-Hour Atlanta to Seoul Flight
Airlines have gotten much better at monetizing their premium cabins over the years, and that comes in a variety of forms, including increasingly selling upgrades for cash as the departure date approaches, much to the chagrin of elite members trying to take advantage of their upgrade perks. Upgrade costs can be all over the place, and in some cases, they've become pretty attractive. However, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before… Delta charges $17.34 for business class upgrade to Asia A Reddit user shares their experience being offered — and accepting — a $17.34 upgrade from Premium Select (premium economy) to Delta One (business class) on the 15+ hour flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Seoul Incheon (ICN). https://www.reddit.com/r/delta/comments/1uz6muy/hows_this_for_an_upgrade_price/ As the person explains: The ticket was changed to the current one on 5-28-26 and flights were LGA (Main B) to ICN via ATL (PS G) and return was HKG (D1 I) to JFK via LAX (D1 I), I being capital i. Upgrade pricing was at $2390. On 7-13, pricing went north to $2661. It went down to $1812 the next day, the 14th. Some time during the evening on the 14th, I changed the HKG-JFK flight to ICN-JFK via LAX to fly on Korean Air's 747. That changed the booking codes for return flights to Z while LGA-ATL was repriced to Comfort W and ATL-ICN was repriced to PS A. Upgrade pricing at this time went down to $1671. It stayed there until this morning at 8:13am, when I went into the seat map for ATL-ICN and saw $17.34. I didn't cancel out of the screen in case it never returns. Got to the purchase confirmation screen and the charge is also showing on my card. Currently, I'm about a month and a half out from checking in and flying. I was hunting for the elusive $699 upgrade offer but I'm not complaining at all with $17.34. Book asap, celebrate later. Was this price the best deal ever, a glitch, or what? Airlines don't publish how they come up with their upgrade pricing, though they seem to take into account a massive number of factors. This may include everything from your originally booked fare, to your elite status, to how many seats are remaining and in what fare buckets, to how close to departure it is. So, was a $17.34 upgrade to Delta One a glitch, or did Delta really mean to offer such an attractive price? On the one hand, originally booked fares may factor into the upgrade cost, and as a result, it's possible (in theory) that one booked a very expensive premium economy fare, and then the upgrade cost is based on some heavily discounted business class fare. But what's more interesting is how the upgrade cost jumps around. It looks like this ticket was changed a couple of times, but then overnight the upgrade cost went from $1,671 to $17.34, so that's nearly a 99% drop in the cost of the upgrade. My speculation would be that this was a glitch of some sort, which is to say that the upgrade algorithm sorta broke, and used bad logic. Now, this should of course still be honored, since upgrade pricing is dynamic, and if you want to have a very complicated system, that can go both ways. But as a customer, talk about a huge win! It's a good reminder to frequently check upgrade pricing, because you never know what you might find. $17.34 seems like a fair deal for an upgrade! 😉 Bottom line A Delta customer was offered a $17.34 upgrade to business class on a flight from Atlanta to Seoul Incheon, which must be some sort of a record. Upgrade costs can jump around. In this case, the upgrade cost went from $1,671 to $17.34 from one minute to the next, a nearly 99% drop! What do you make of this Delta One upgrade cost? Have you ever seen anything like this before?
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