Lufthansa is reportedly in talks with Airbus to take over production slots for A350 aircraft owned by Qatar Airways and Aeroflot, Aero.de sources reported.
While the Russian airline is banned from receiving aircraft in the West due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Qatar has suspended deliveries of the widebody due to a legal dispute over the surface degradation of part of its fleet.
Talks not only include the delivery of the A350-900 but also took over slots for the larger A350-1000 variant, which Lufthansa has not previously ordered.
The interest in Airbus aircraft would be explained by the need to reinforce the long-range fleet due to the growing demand for air travel.
Last week, Carsten Spohr, the company’s CEO, even considered taking some A380s out of storage to reinforce the long-haul network while the Boeing 777-9 is not delivered.
The US manufacturer’s twin-engine passenger jet is not expected to have the first examples delivered until 2025, the company said in its Q1 financial presentation.
Asked about the matter by the German outlet, Lufthansa declined to comment.
