Over the past several weeks, Lufthansa has been introducing a special fleet of planes in a 100th anniversary livery. While the first of these planes entered service several weeks ago, I’m very impressed by how quickly five planes have been repainted.
I’ve gotta hand it to Lufthansa, this is one of the coolest special liveries we’ve ever seen. Not only that, but the livery looks particularly amazing on the 747, if you ask me, and that might just be my favorite “special” plane ever.
Lufthansa highlights crane with 100th anniversary livery
Lufthansa is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year (in 2026), and to mark this special occasion, the airline is introducing a special livery on six aircraft, with each of the most important subfleets getting one plane in a special livery. So far, five of those planes are in service. You’ll find the special livery on the following aircraft:
The expectation is that later this year, Lufthansa will take delivery of a brand new Airbus A350-1000 featuring the special livery, which will round out the centennial fleet.
Lufthansa’s special anniversary livery heavily emphasizes the crane, which is a unique aspect of Lufthansa’s identity since the airline began operations. Here’s how Lufthansa describes this special livery:
The special livery features a blue fuselage with a white crane hovering above it, its wings merging into the wings of the aircraft. The wings of the aircraft thus virtually become the wings of the crane. An unprecedented design that combines movement and elegance, tradition and the future. Designed as a trademark by graphic designer and architect Otto Firle in 1918, the crane has become Lufthansa’s unmistakable distinguishing feature worldwide over the decades.
In addition to the crane, the numerals “100” are integrated on the left side of the fuselage and the lettering “1926 / 2026” on the right side. A “100” logo is also painted on the underside of the aircraft.
Here’s what Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter had to say about the new livery:
“These are the particularly beautiful and unforgettable moments in our job. It’s always a special moment to take delivery of a brand-new aircraft – but today’s landing of this anniversary Boeing 787-9, with its extraordinary special livery marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the first ‘Luft Hansa’, was even more exciting and fascinating.”
Now this is what I call a special livery!
Obviously as an aviation geek, I take more interest in aircraft liveries than the average person. I think Lufthansa’s special anniversary livery is really well done. In particular, I love how abstractly yet prominently the crane is integrated into this livery, and how much this is actually an evolution of the carrier’s standard livery (rather than being something completely different).
The heavy use of blue and white reminds me of Delta’s centennial livery A350 that was unveiled a while back. The difference, of course, is that Lufthansa’s standard livery is blue and white, while Delta’s isn’t, so Delta’s special livery was a bit more random, in that sense.
The special Lufthansa livery also reminds me a little of Riyadh Air’s purple livery, since nowadays it’s not often we see liveries that have such heavy use of a tone other than white.
While I think all the planes look good in the special livery, the Boeing 747-8 is in a league of its own. I’d argue it’s the nicest-looking plane under normal circumstances, and this livery really elevates it… what a beautiful beast!
Bottom line
Lufthansa has now rolled out its special 100th anniversary livery on five aircraft. It’s one of the coolest special liveries that we’ve seen from any airline, in my opinion, and emphasizes the crane more than any previous paint job. In particular, the livery on the Boeing 747 is so special.
Now, ideally Lufthansa would be as focused on and as efficient with addressing the interiors of its aircraft, but that’s a different story. 😉
What do you make of Lufthansa’s special centennial livery?