Lufthansa is marking the 100th anniversary of its founding with another special aircraft livery, this time designed by its own employees. The end result is an Airbus A321neo design that tells the personal stories of the people behind the airline.
Under the motto ‘Made by many. Remembered by all’, the carrier invited all Lufthansa Group employees to submit their stories via the company intranet. A jury selected the 20 best submissions, which were then put to a company-wide vote. The twelve winning motifs now appear on the aircraft, which carries the baptismal name ‘Hamm’ and the registration D-AEIM.
“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.”
The selected stories span both company milestones and personal moments. One highlights Lufthansa’s first inter-German scheduled flight following the country’s division, which operated from Frankfurt am Main to Leipzig in 1989. Another comes from two flight attendants who met while skiing during a layover in Vancouver, including a drawing of themselves on skis in the mountains that now adorns the fuselage. A third motif, submitted by Lufthansa Technik employees, depicts two interlocking hands symbolizing teamwork across the company.
Historical images also feature in the design, including a photo of Lufthansa’s first two female pilots, Nicola Lisy and Evi Hetzmannseder.
All images have been placed into designated frames integrated into the airline’s now-familiar oversized crane livery, which stretches across the entire aircraft. QR codes next to each frame link to a landing webpage with background information on the stories.
Lufthansa has said that additional employee motifs will be added throughout the year.
The A321neo joins a growing fleet of anniversary aircraft. Lufthansa has already applied its 100-year livery, featuring the oversized crane, to two Airbus A320neos, one Airbus A350-900, one Airbus A380, one Boeing 747-8, and one Boeing 787-9. An Airbus A350-1000 is expected to join as the seventh member of the special fleet in the Fall of 2026.
