Lufthansa is about to take its first Airbus A350-1000, and the details now on the table matter to anyone flying long haul from Munich. The airline ordered 10 of the stretched A350s in 2023 and upped that to 15 a year later, with deliveries running from late 2026 through 2030. The first frame, registration D-AIFA and named "Deutschland," is expected around mid-November 2026 and carries Lufthansa's 100th anniversary livery — one special paint scheme for each of its seven fleet types. It's also the 700th aircraft Airbus has delivered to the Lufthansa Group.
The cabin is the real story here. Lufthansa is configuring the A350-1000 with 300 seats across four cabins: four first class suites (the Allegris "double" means it's really 3.5 seats), 49 business class seats, 35 premium economy and 212 economy. Compared with the smaller A350-900 already flying, that's exactly 11 extra seats in each of business, premium economy and economy. Crucially for premium travellers, the new type packs 40 percent more Business and Premium Economy seating than the -900, giving far better odds of finding an Allegris seat with doors or extra legroom on a given flight.
The plane will live at Munich, Lufthansa's dedicated A350 base, and enter service in early December 2026. From December 3 it replaces the -900 on the Munich–Tokyo Haneda route, with Shanghai and Singapore following within weeks. Expect alternating aircraft at first — the -1000 won't fly daily initially, so your booking may or may not get the new cabin. The first US cities in line are Chicago and Newark, though Lufthansa hasn't committed to dates for those yet. It's a slightly odd choice to launch on Asia routes rather than North America, where a single aircraft could turn around same-day and stay productive, but with plenty of commonality between the two A350 variants, crew and operations make it work either way.
This all fits into the largest fleet overhaul in Lufthansa Group history — A350-900s, Boeing 787-9s and eventually the long-delayed 777-9s are all in the pipeline. For travellers, the practical upshot is simple: if you want to experience Allegris first or business class, Munich is now unquestionably the hub to route through, and Munich–Tokyo Haneda from December 2026 is the highest-probability way to score the new flagship. Points and miles fans should also note the first-class situation: only one row of four suites, same as the -900, so availability will stay tight. Business class, with 49 seats, is the smarter redemption play.
Worth planning ahead if any of this is on your radar: the first four A350-1000s should all be in the fleet by the end of 2026, and routes will expand quickly through 2027.
