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Lufthansa Group is expanding its Boeing 737 MAX commitment by exercising options for 20 MAX 10 aircraft, taking its total firm order volume for the family to 60 aircraft. The group’s supervisory board approved the purchase on Thursday, converting part of the options secured in its 2023 
Boeing agreement into firm commitments. Deliveries of the newly ordered MAX 10s are scheduled to begin in the early 2030s.
The decision gives Lufthansa Group a larger future fleet of Boeing narrowbody aircraft as it continues replacing older jets. The original 2023 agreement covered 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and 60 purchase options for additional members of the family. Lufthansa Group is now exercising the first 20 of those options, while retaining 40 additional options from the original arrangement.
The MAX 10 Adds Capacity To Lufthansa’s Boeing Order
The 737 MAX 10 is the largest variant of Boeing’s MAX family, and its greater seating capacity will give Lufthansa Group more seats per aircraft than the 737 MAX 8s already on order. That makes the type suited to routes where demand supports additional capacity without requiring a larger aircraft category. The group said the MAX 10s will gradually replace older Airbus A320 family aircraft across its airlines. This does not represent a wholesale move away from Airbus, since Lufthansa Group operates a large A320 family fleet and continues to order Airbus aircraft. Instead, the Boeing purchase adds another narrowbody type to its long-term fleet modernization program.
The 20-aircraft commitment carries a list price of approximately $3.4 billion, although airline manufacturers’ list prices generally differ substantially from negotiated transaction values. Lufthansa Group did not disclose the agreement’s commercial terms.
Fuel Efficiency Is Central To The Replacement Strategy
Lufthansa Group expects the MAX 10 to consume around 30 percent less fuel than the older aircraft it is intended to replace. Its larger seating capacity is also expected to reduce unit costs by approximately 20 percent, according to the airline group. Those characteristics make the aircraft relevant to Lufthansa’s economics on European routes, where carriers often need to balance high-frequency schedules with efficient use of available seats. Adding capacity without moving to a larger aircraft offers another way to adjust schedules as demand changes.
The order also fits into a much broader fleet renewal effort. Lufthansa Group expects to receive more than 250 new aircraft by 2035. In May, the group also approved orders for 10 A350-900s and 10 examples of the 787-9, with those long-haul deliveries scheduled between 2032 and 2034. The company has therefore been using a mix of aircraft types to modernize different parts of its network rather than relying on a single manufacturer or platform.
Lufthansa Still Has Room To Expand The MAX Commitment
The latest transaction uses only one-third of the 60 Boeing purchase options secured in 2023. Lufthansa Group therefore retains flexibility to increase its MAX commitment as its future capacity requirements become clearer. The initial 2023 agreement was designed with that flexibility in mind. Alongside 40 firm 737 MAX 8 orders, Lufthansa secured 60 options for additional 737 MAX aircraft. The group said the arrangement would provide greater flexibility in procuring short- and medium-haul aircraft.
The timing also gives Lufthansa considerable lead time before the MAX 10s arrive. Deliveries are not expected until the early 2030s, allowing the group to coordinate retirements, network growth, and fleet assignments around the incoming aircraft. For Boeing, the development strengthens its relationship with one of Europe’s largest airline groups and adds 20 aircraft to the MAX backlog. For Lufthansa Group, it secures additional capacity for a future fleet while preserving the option to make further purchases later.
The next question will be how the group allocates the MAX 10s among its airlines. Lufthansa said the 737 MAX aircraft ordered in 2023 would be deployed within the group’s operations, with the specific airline to be determined later. The same approach could apply to the newly exercised options as deliveries approach.
