Lufthansa Group has agreed to buy 20 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, exercising purchase options from its 2023 deal with Boeing and marking the group’s first firm commitment to the MAX 10 variant. The decision, approved by the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, increases Lufthansa Group’s total firm Boeing 737 MAX order volume to 60 aircraft, up from the 40 737-8s it previously ordered. The additional MAX-family purchase rights were secured as part of the original 2023 agreement, which included 60 options.
Early 2030s for the MAX 10
Lufthansa Group said deliveries of the newly ordered 737 MAX 10s are scheduled to begin in the early 2030s. The aircraft are intended to gradually replace older Airbus A320-family jets across Lufthansa Group’s airline portfolio. Lufthansa Group explicitly framed the MAX 10 purchase as part of a wider fleet renewal push, saying it expects to take delivery of more than 250 new aircraft by 2035.
While the group has already indicated that its 40 737-8s are earmarked for Eurowings, Lufthansa Group has not publicly assigned the MAX 10s to a specific operating airline this far ahead of delivery (Lufthansa commonly allocates aircraft to individual carriers closer to entry into service).
Aviation Week’s reporting adds colour to what’s being replaced: Lufthansa Group still has a large number of A320ceo-family aircraft in service (including older A319s), with a portion of that fleet now reaching “late-life” economics where heavier checks, cabin refresh decisions, and reliability risk become bigger issues.
Why this is strategically notable for Lufthansa?
In its announcement, Lufthansa Group described the MAX 10 as serving both capacity and efficiency needs. The company said the aircraft, the largest member of the 737 MAX family, offers more seating capacity than the 737-8 already on order and, compared with older aircraft it will replace, should consume around 30% less fuel. Lufthansa also said a higher seat count could reduce unit costs by about 20%, supporting lower CO₂ emissions per passenger and improved economics on European routes.
Lufthansa cited a list value of roughly $3.4 billion for the order, noting that catalogue prices are indicative only and do not represent the discounted terms agreed in commercial aircraft deals.
When Lufthansa Group announced its landmark MAX deal in December 2023, Boeing highlighted it as the airline’s first Boeing single-aisle order in almost 30 years, noting that Lufthansa retired its last 737 in 2016 as it was part of its fleet modernisation.
The latest MAX 10 order builds on that re-entry: rather than stopping at the 737-8. Lufthansa is now committing to the largest model of the MAX family, which is crucial as European short-haul economics are often won or lost on fuel burn, maintenance intensity and seat-mile cost and fleet renewal is one of the few levers airlines can pull that affects all three.
What do you think about Lufthansa’s new fleet order? Let us know in the comments.
