Lufthansa orders medium-haul Boeing 737s for first time in 30 years

For the first time in three decades, Lufthansa has ordered the medium-haul 737 passenger jet from US manufacturer Boeing.
In addition to 40 737-8 MAX aircraft on firm order, the group has secured options for a further 60 aircraft, the company said on Tuesday.
Lufthansa had been a major customer of the 737 as far back as 1968, but then retired the last aircraft in 2016 and instead operated a pure Airbus fleet on shorter routes.
Aircraft from both manufacturers were always used on long-haul routes.
"It is a good strategic decision for the Lufthansa Group to order Boeing 737 aircraft again for the first time since 1995," said Lufthansa Group boss Carsten Spohr in a statement.
Lufthansa ordered 40 jets of the smaller A220 type with 148 seats from the long-term supplier Airbus, which are to be used primarily by the newly founded subsidiary City Airlines in Munich and Frankfurt starting in 2026.
Lufthansa secured a further 20 options for the A220 and 40 options for its standard A320 jet.
According to the announcement, the aircraft on firm order have a total combined list price of around $9 billion, although significant discounts are the industry norm for large orders.
"With today's aircraft order, we are accelerating the largest fleet modernization in our company's history. This increases our order list of around 200 aircraft to 280 – plus an additional 120 purchasing options for further state-of-the-art short- and medium-haul aircraft," said chief fleet officer Detlef Kayser.
Boeing's 737 MAX got off to a difficult start with two serious crashes in 2018 and 2019. The safety deficiencies were rectified following a temporary production stop.