Lufthansa may soon announce a renegotiation of its long-range jet orders, the German company’s CEO Carstern Spohr admitted on Monday during a London School of Economics webinar.
Without specifying what the changes will be, Spohr was skeptical about the resumption of demand for executive travel in Europe and the United States. Currently, Lufthansa has orders for 41 A350-900, 20 Boeing 787-9 and 20 777-9, the largest twin-engine passenger aircraft in the world, which is expected to be the launch customer in 2023.
It is not the first time that Lufthansa has talked about revising its backlog, but rumors are growing that the German airline will replace part of these orders with smaller capacity aircraft, better suited to the reality of international air traffic.
Airbus could offer the possibility to exchange the A350 for the A330neo or even for the A321XLR, a long-range variant of the single-aisle jet. Boeing already had the option of replacing part of the 777-9 with the 787 Dreamliner.
The company already operates 17 A350 jets while waiting for the first 787 Dreamliner in 2022 after announcing its order two years ago. Airbus and Boeing officials declined to comment with Forbes.
Negotiations with Embraer
Spohr also revealed that the company is talking to Embraer about renewing its fleet. The Brazilian manufacturer has E-Jets aircraft flying on Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Air Dolomiti while Swiss operates the rival A220.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Lufthansa has reduced its fleet, especially the A380, A340 and 747 four-engine engines.
