In January, Airbus order book contained only 43 A350-900 orders for Lufthansa. Previously there had been 45. That small fact created a lot of confusion. Has Lufthansa cancelled orders? No, says the airline. What looks like a cancellation of two jets on firm order is not one at all, a spokesman for the airline tells aeroTELEGRAPH.
Five of the orders were «reconfirmable», he continues. With this form of order, the customer can withdraw from the order within a specified period of time. Lufthansa has done this for two aircraft.
Still 25 to 28 Airbus A350
Lufthansa's order was placed in two steps: In 2013, the airline ordered 25 Airbus A350-900s, but five of them were reconfirmable. In 2019, the airline then ordered 20 more A350-900s and in the process cancelled the two aircraft, which have now disappeared from the Airbus order book in January.
This means that of the 43 A350-900s for Lufthansa that are now still in the Airbus order book, 40 are firm orders and three are still reconfirmable. Lufthansa has already received 15 of the Airbus A350-900s. Thus, the airline now expects between 25 and 28 of the aircraft after all.
