Lufthansa’s first Airbus A350-1000 is expected to arrive next month, airline officials said Thursday.
The aircraft will be flown from Airbus’ facility in Toulouse, France, to Munich some time in mid-November. It is expected to enter service on Dec. 3, with a nonstop flight from Munich to Tokyo-Haneda.
In the following weeks, the A350-1000 will also serve Shanghai and Singapore, Lufthansa said.
“The introduction of the new A350-1000 is part of the largest fleet modernization in the history of the Lufthansa Group and a key driver on the path to more sustainability,” Heiko Reitz, Lufthansa’s Munich hub manager, said in a news release. “Our new flagship features 40 percent more Business and Premium Economy seats. To put it simply: the A350-1000 strengthens our premium hub in Munich.”
Lufthansa’s first A350-1000 is nicknamed “Deutschland” and has already been painted in the carrier’s special 100th anniversary livery. The same design was applied to several other aircraft this year to mark the centennial of Deutsche Luft Hansa.
Lufthansa has ordered 15 -1000s. The first 10 will join Lufthansa’s mainline fleet and be based at Munich.