Lufthansa will mark a major milestone on January 06, 2026 when it completes 100 years of the first “Luft Hansa”, with the foundation being on January 06, 1926 and operations starting on April 06 the same year. The year will be celebrated as a special year by the airline.
The story begins with the founding of the first Lufthansa, formed through the merger of Junkers Luftverkehr and Deutsche Aero Lloyd. This fusion laid the foundation for a success story in international aviation that continues to this day. However, the journey was not always smooth. Lufthansa’s history is marked by challenges, interruptions, and new beginnings, showcasing the company’s resilience and relentless spirit of innovation. The darkest chapter in Lufthansa’s history was during the Nazi era, when the airline became part of the regime and played an active role within it. Lufthansa is using its 100th anniversary as an opportunity to critically examine its involvement during this time and further address it based on historical research. In reflecting on its history, Lufthansa does not limit itself to the post-war chapters. The years from its founding to the downfall of the first Lufthansa are equally part of the company’s story. The story begins with the founding of the first Lufthansa, formed through the merger of Junkers Luftverkehr and Deutsche Aero Lloyd. This fusion laid the foundation for a success story in international aviation that continues to this day. However, the journey was not always smooth. Lufthansa’s history is marked by challenges, interruptions, and new beginnings, showcasing the company’s resilience and relentless spirit of innovation. The darkest chapter in Lufthansa’s history was during the Nazi era, when the airline became part of the regime and played an active role within it. Lufthansa is using its 100th anniversary as an opportunity to critically examine its involvement during this time and further address it based on historical research. In reflecting on its history, Lufthansa does not limit itself to the post-war chapters. The years from its founding to the downfall of the first Lufthansa are equally part of the company’s story. With the re-establishment of the “second Lufthansa” in 1953, the legal foundation of today’s Lufthansa was created. Once again, great pioneering spirit was required to embark on a fresh start after the war. In 1955, flight operations resumed, and the journey of the newly founded Deutsche Lufthansa AG began.
A Year of Experiences for Customers, Fans, and Employees
In the anniversary year 2026, Lufthansa will organize a variety of activities and events to honor the history and future of the aviation group. These include a permanent exhibition at the Lufthansa Group Hangar One, special events, a history book, film and video productions, employee celebrations, customer events, as well as marketing and product campaigns. The anniversary year will be visible and tangible for Lufthansa customers starting in January. The special “100 Years of Lufthansa” emblem will appear on boarding passes, at airports, and onboard Lufthansa flights in many places. Outside of airports – for example, in many city centers – a poster campaign will tell Lufthansa’s story through iconic images and messages.
Flying Ambassadors: The Lufthansa Anniversary Fleet
A highlight of the celebrations will be the special aircraft liveries: the key sub-fleets of Lufthansa’s core brand will feature one aircraft with the new 100-year special livery. The Lufthansa anniversary fleet consists of six aircraft: an Airbus A380, an Airbus A350-1000, an Airbus A350-900, an Airbus A320, and a Boeing 747-8. Leading the anniversary fleet is the Boeing 787-9 named “Berlin,” which was delivered from Boeing’s factory in Washington State, USA, to Germany shortly before Christmas and landed at its new home airport in Frankfurt. Additionally, there will be two retro liveries. These designs combine tradition and progress, making each aircraft a unique flying ambassador of the brand. The iconic crane, designed by Otto Firle in 1918, remains Lufthansa’s global symbol.
India Operations
Lufthansa completed sixty years of operations to India in 2023. Lufthansa started operations to Delhi on September 01, 1963 from Frankrurt with Boeing 720 with stopovers in Rome, Cairo, Kuwait City and Karachi.
Data obtained from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this post, shows that Lufthansa currently offers 54 weekly frequencies to India from Germany, offering 18217 weekly seats each way. It operates daily services to Munich from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengalurulu; while it offers daily services to Frankfurt from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, along with five times a week to Frankfurt from Hyderabad. These flights are on a variety of aircraft comprising the A380, A340, B747 and the 787 dreamliner.
The Lufthansa Group owns Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways as network carriers along with Eurowings and Discover Airlines which are primarily leisure airlines. Currently, apart from Lufthansa, SWISS operates to India with daily services between Zurich – Delhi and Zurich – Mumbai, along with ITA Airways which operates daily services between Delhi and Rome. Brussels Airlines has operated to Mumbai in the past and Austrian Airlines has operated to Delhi.
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