New Long-Haul Era: Lufthansa Receives 1st A350-1000 & 700th Airbus Jet Overall

Published Nov 10, 2026, 9:13 AM EST A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for history and regional aviation, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft. He has visited OEM facilities as far and wide as Bristol, Toulouse, and Seattle, and recently enjoyed the milestone of flying his 150th sector as a passenger. Based in Norfolk, UK. Lufthansa has officially taken delivery of its first example of the Airbus A350-1000. The Cologne-based German flag carrier and Star Alliance founding member already flies the standard Airbus A350-900 model, and it is now starting a new era of long-haul flying as the stretched A350-1000 enters the fray. This delivery had extra significance as it also represented the airline's 700th Airbus jet overall. The momentous occasion was marked, as such milestones often are, with a ceremony at Airbus's facilities at Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS) in the southwest of France. Wednesday will subsequently see the jet, which has been painted in Lufthansa's special centenary livery, undertake a ferry flight from Toulouse to Lufthansa's hub at Munich Airport (MUC) ahead of its entry into service in December. The Aircraft Only Finished Its Flight Test Program Last Week Credit: Simple Flying Lufthansa confirmed in a statement that it released earlier today that its first Airbus A350-1000 bears the registration D-AIFA and the name 'Deutschland' (German for 'Germany'). As seen above, data from Flightradar24 shows that the jet concluded its pre-delivery flight test program last week, operating a 64-minute flight out of Toulouse on November 6. It did so under the French registration F-WZNY. By the time it enters service, D-AIFA will have been fitted with Starlink WiFi, making it the first jet in the long-haul Lufthansa Group fleet to feature the new high-speed inflight connectivity solution. Carsten Spohr, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lufthansa Group, welcomed the fact that the A350 "uses up to 30% less fuel per passenger, while at the same time offering significantly lower unit costs." He added that: "With our first A350-1000, Lufthansa is taking delivery of the world’s most modern long-haul aircraft. Our guests can look forward to the new Allegris premium cabin in all travel classes." Lufthansa's 700th Airbus Jet Credit: Lufthansa The delivery of the first stretched Airbus A350 to Lufthansa is the latest milestone in a long and healthy working relationship between the German flag carrier and the transnational European planemaker that dates back half a decade. On this note, Spohr said that "as the world’s largest Airbus customer, we are taking delivery of our 700th Airbus [jet] exactly 50 years after the first Airbus delivery to Lufthansa." Today, Airbus planes form the backbone of both the narrowbody and widebody fleets at Lufthansa, which continues to fly jets from the A320, A320neo, A330, A340, A350, and even A380 families. Historically, the Lufthansa Group notes that it "has operated aircraft from every Airbus aircraft family and has served as a launch customer on numerous occasions." The A350-1000 marks the latest chapter. Lufthansa Group Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr was joined at the handover ceremony by Lars Wagner, the CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus, with the presence of these high-ranking executives underlining the importance of this maiden delivery. The next step will be to ferry D-AIFA from Toulouse to Munich, with this set to take place on November 11. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft will enter service. The First Of 15 Credit: Lufthansa As it stands, this entry into service is set to come in the form of a long-haul rotation from Munich to Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) in Japan. This has been penciled in for Thursday, December 3, 2026. Further Asian destinations are set to be added to Lufthansa's growing A350-1000 network in the form of Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) on December 12 and Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) on December 18. The Lufthansa Group has placed a grand total of 15 firm orders to date, of which the first ten will be used to serve Lufthansa's long-haul ops out of its Munich Airport hub. The remaining 14 examples of the type are set to be delivered by 2030, with Lufthansa saying that "the entry into service of the new A350-1000 is part of the largest fleet modernization program in the history of the Lufthansa Group."