Lufthansa's First Boeing 787-9 en Route to Frankfurt

Listen to this article:

DALLAS - Lufthansa's (LH) first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has officially been delivered. D-ABPA will touch down in Frankfurt on August 30, 2022. 

This Monday, Boeing formally handed over the "Berlin" aircraft, which will depart Paine Field Airport (PAE) at 16:00 local time bound for Frankfurt Airport (FRA). The widebody is expected to touch down on Tuesday, August 30, at 11:00 a.m. local time.

Five of the 32 Boeing 787-9s that Lufthansa has ordered are anticipated to arrive in 2022. These initial aircraft have been prepared since 2019 and were intended for delivery to China's Hainan Airlines (HU) as well as Vistara (UK), however, none of these clients received them.

The next Boeing 787-9 to be delivered to LH carries the registration D-ABPD and the name "Frankfurt am Main," the airline recently announced.

Cabin Refurbishments

The first Dreamliner will have its main cabin reconfigured when it lands in Germany in order to meet Lufthansa's requirements. Specifically, the Boeing 787-9 "Berlin" improved cabin product includes direct aisle access for all guests in Business Class.

Following several weeks of planned cabin refurbishments at Lufthansa’s maintenance in Frankfurt, the aircraft will be deployed initially on domestic German routes for training purposes. The first intercontinental scheduled destination of the Lufthansa “Dreamliner” will be Toronto.

Since the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delayed the Dreamliner's certification because of issues with the assembly process, Boeing had not shipped a Dreamliner since May 2021 until the planemaker resumed delivery of the type at the beginning of August 2022.

Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 D-ABPA Take-Off on delivery flight with several new Boeing 777-9 seen below it, another type that Lufthansa has ordered and will take delivery of once certification flight testing is completed. Photo: Daniel Gorun/Airways