Deutsche Lufthansa, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus to purchase 10 A330-300s, the capacious medium-range twin from Airbus’ market leading A330/A340 Family. This is subject to the approval of the Lufthansa Supervisory Board. Deliveries of the aircraft are scheduled to begin in 2004. Engines have yet to be selected.

This is the first A330 acquisition by Lufthansa who already operates a fleet of 34 A340s with an additional 10 on commitment and marks the next step in Lufthansa’s medium term fleet planning. With this A330 order, the airline will be operating almost the entire Airbus aircraft family and will make Lufthansa the largest A330/A340 Family operator in the world. The A330s will give Lufthansa the full benefit of Airbus’ unique operational commonality, providing huge cost savings in operations, training and maintenance.
The A330-300 offers an optimised cabin layout providing passengers with ample space, where space really matters. Airbus’ A330/A340 Family sets the standard of today’s passenger comfort without a middle seat in Business Class and placing all Economy passengers no farther than one seat from the aisle. The A330-300’s flexibility and efficiency results from its state-of-the-art technology, optimised wing design and the lowest fuel burn in its class. Together with low noise and emissions levels, these features also contribute to environmentally-friendly operations.
Lufthansa’s selection of the A330 further reinforces the remarkable success of the A330/A340 Family as the preferred medium to long-range aircraft among airlines worldwide. The A330/A340 Family has booked some 750 total orders from more than 60 customers to date and has achieved 76 per cent of the market against its direct competitors so far in 2002.
A leading aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive product line on the market, Airbus is a global company with design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain as well as subsidiaries in the U.S., China and Japan. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE SYSTEMS.

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