Lufthansa to add four ex-LATAM A350-900s

Lufthansa Group has signed an agreement to acquire four incremental A350-900s from Deucalion Aviation, continuing its strategy of opportunistic A350 fleet growth.

The four aircraft will deliver later this year. But while the carrier did not provide any more information regarding the identity of the aircraft, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows the Dutch lessor owns only four A350-900s. The ex-LATAM Airlines Brasil aircraft are of 2016 (three units) and 2019 (one) vintage, and have been parked at Victorville since 2020-2021. LATAM Airlines Group retired its entire A350 fleet during Chapter 11 restructuring in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier reports suggested that Lufthansa Group was also targeting two more second-hand A350-900s, formerly operated by South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) and owned by Park Aerospace Holdings.

The German holding currently operates twenty-one A350-900s, including four ex-Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) units added in the first half of 2022. It has a firm order for a further 33 jets, of which five will be allocated to Swiss (LX, Zurich). The group has also been opportunistically growing its B787-9 fleet, targeting both not-taken-up white-tails and second-hand units returned by restructuring carriers.
CH Aviation