Board members at Lufthansa have approved the order of 12 new aircraft as the airline seeks to meet soaring demand.

Of the aircraft, two Airbus A380s and one Airbus A330-300 will be deployed for Lufthansa German Airlines on long-haul routes for an interim period.

The decision was taken by the Board at its meeting earlier.

There are also plans to order four Airbus A320s for Lufthansa German Airlines.

In addition, five new Embraer195s will augment the Lufthansa Regional fleet.

The new, modern, fuel-efficient aircraft will be delivered to the Group in stages from 2012.

The order has a list-price value of about one billion euros.

Commenting on the decision, Lufthansa chief executive Christoph Franz, said: “The moderate expansion of Lufthansa’s passenger fleet will serve primarily to ensure that we can meet short-term requirements while modernising and consolidating our European fleet until such time as new aircraft technologies are available.

“It is the latest step in our ongoing strategy of deploying a modern fleet in terms of fuel efficiency, operating costs, noise and emissions.

“At the same time, the additional order for the Airbus A380 and A330 will underpin our plans on long-haul routes in the medium term.

“Along with the aircraft we have already ordered, which will join our fleet over the next few years, it will increase our ability to take targeted action and respond flexibly to fluctuations in demand or market changes.”

The order will be financed from the group’s cash reserves or from external sources.

Lufthansa was recently recognised as Europe’s Leading Airline by the prestigious World Travel Awards.