(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Lufthansa, which has placed 36 billion Euro worth of orders for 300 new aircraft, is on track to boost its Boeing fleet size to 35 per cent of its total aircraft stocks by 2020.
The German airline has already placed a $19 billion order for both the Boeing 777X and the Airbus A350-900 in a bid to replace some of the older aircraft in its long-haul fleet.
Lufthansa Vice President Sales & Services South Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, Carsten Schaeffer, said the carrier, which is launch customer for Boeing's latest version of the 777, would formally seal the agreement at the Dubai Air Show opening in November.
Schaeffer, speaking to journalists in Los Angeles, said German carrier had committed to 34 777-9Xs and 25 A350-900s. The first A350s are due for delivery in 2016, and the first 777X is expected to arrive in the Lufthansa fleet in 2020 making it the first to take the 777X into service, as well as being the first buyer.
He said Lufthansa has the flexibility through options and purchase rights to increase the 777X order to 64 units and the A350 commitment to 55 aircraft.
Lufthansa plans to replace 13 747-400s and 17 A340-300s. Should the airline decide to cut capacity plans further, it would also start retiring its fleet of 24 A340-600s. The airline has laid out a baseline scenario which sees it grow long-haul capacity by three per cent a year. If 25 options are exercised, the carrier could grow by five per cent a year.
Airlines sources said Boeing 777X would also be winning two significant orders at Dubai air show from two of the fastest growing Gulf carriers.
The new order is for the Lufthansa only, but the German group could use options to renew the long-haul fleets at Swiss or Austrian if needed.
Lufthansa plans to operate the A350-900 and 777-9X in two-class and three class configurations. Both aircraft would be operated from the Frankfurt and Munich bases.
The airline's future long-haul fleet will consist of A380s, 747-8s, 777-9Xs, A350-900s and A330-300s, once all of its A340s are phased out. But that will be a multi-year process as the replacement program is scheduled to last until 2025.
Schaeffer said the fleet expansion would go side by side with Lufthansa's expansion in the Middle East where it currently serves 14 destinations. Over the next three years, three to four additional destinations in the region are on the radar, he said. Iran and Iraq are interesting and potential markets, he said.
Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz, who is quitting the airline to join Swiss drug-maker Roche Holding next year, expects his airline to become one of the very early operators of the 777X. The carrier is the first to sign a firm order for the aircraft, which is still not formally launched. That step is widely expected to occur at the Dubai Air Show, which starts Nov. 17, and is likely to be based on further orders including a large Emirates commitment.
With the new orders that bring the total value of planes ordered this year to $31 billion Lufthansa now has a firm order backlog of 300 aircraft, worth ‚¬36 billion ($48.8 billion) at list prices.
Aviation analysts said at the National Business Aviation Expo in Las Vegas that they expect Boeing to secure well over 100 aircraft for the initial launch of its 777X program, with significantly more orders to follow in 2014.
While Boeing hasn't revealed pricing for the -9X, designed to seat more than 400 passengers, Lufthansa's announcement implies a list price of more than $340 million a plane.
According to Boeing, 777X jet will be the largest and most-efficient twin-engine aircraft, consuming 20 per cent less fuel than current Boeing 777s and providing the lowest operating cost per seat of any jetliner.
The 777X will feature new engines from General Electric and the largest wing ever on a Boeing plane to help improve performance. Lufthansa doesn't fly the current 777 in its own passenger business and only uses the aircraft for cargo and its Swiss and Austrian subsidiaries.
With the new aircraft joining its fleet, Lufthansa, which carried 75 million passengers in 2012, will be able to phase out aging long-distance jets.
Lufthansa to be first to take the 777X into service, as well as being the first buyer.
Schaeffer said the latest destination for Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 fleet will be Chicago, when the airline launches service to the city from 27th October.
He said Lufthans's new Business Class seat is a major component of Lufthansa's largest investment to date in its inflight product. Over the next 1,000 days, each day 1 million Euro will be channelled into product improvements for passengers.
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