Lufthansa marks centenary with employee-designed aircraft

Germany

Special Airbus A321neo livery tells personal stories from the airline’s workforce

In its centenary year 2026, Lufthansa is introducing another distinctive aircraft to its fleet: an Airbus A321neo featuring a special livery created from the personal stories of its employees. Under the motto “Made by many. Remembered by all,” the airline pays tribute to the people who have shaped Lufthansa over the past 100 years.

“All of our colleagues are part of Lufthansa’s history,” said Jens Ritter, CEO of Lufthansa Airlines. “Whether in the air or on the ground – every person who works for Lufthansa defines our airline and makes it what it is. With this special livery, we want to honor their work and tell Lufthansa’s history from their perspective.”

Employee stories become part of the aircraft design

All Lufthansa Group employees were invited via the company intranet to submit personal anecdotes and ideas reflecting their experiences with the airline. A jury selected 20 of the submissions, after which employees voted for their favorites. Twelve motifs will now be featured on the aircraft, which carries the name “Hamm.”

The chosen stories cover a wide range of themes. Some highlight historic moments in Lufthansa’s past, such as the first scheduled flight between East and West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, operated from Frankfurt to Leipzig in 1989. Others reflect more personal experiences, including the story of two flight attendants who met while skiing during a layover in Vancouver. Their illustration of themselves skiing in the mountains will appear on the aircraft.

Another motif created by Lufthansa Technik employees depicts two interlocking hands, symbolizing the team spirit that characterizes collaboration across many areas of the company.

Historical images and digital storytelling

Alongside the employee motifs, the aircraft also features historic images from Lufthansa’s history. One example is a photograph of the airline’s first two female pilots, Nicola Lisy and Evi Hetzmannseder.

All visuals are incorporated into specially designed frames embedded within the now-familiar XXL crane design that spans the entire aircraft, registered as D-AEIM. In this way, the stories of Lufthansa employees will travel across Europe with the aircraft.

Additional employee motifs will be added over the course of the year. Each design element on the aircraft is accompanied by a QR code linking to a dedicated webpage with background information about the respective story.

Anniversary fleet continues to grow

Several aircraft types within Lufthansa’s fleet have already received special centenary liveries. Currently, two Airbus A320neo, one Airbus A350-900, one Airbus A380, one Boeing 747-8 and one Boeing 787-9 are flying worldwide with the 100-year design featuring the XXL crane.

In autumn, an Airbus A350-1000 will join as the seventh aircraft in Lufthansa’s special anniversary fleet.