Lufthansa 100th Anniversary Flights, Special Livery 2026
Lufthansa is turning its 100th anniversary into a yearlong, customer facing program across its network, anchored by a January 6, 2026 anniversary date and an April 6, 2026 centennial marker tied to the original airline's first flight. Lufthansa says travelers will see a "100 Years of Lufthansa" emblem on boarding passes, at airports, and onboard, along with city poster campaigns and a slate of customer events, films, and a new history book.
The most tangible change for flyers is the planned anniversary fleet with special aircraft liveries. Lufthansa says six aircraft across key sub fleets will carry the new 100 year livery, led by a Boeing 787-9 named "Berlin" registered as D-ABPU, with additional aircraft planned across the A380, A350-1000, A350-900, A320, and 747-8 fleets.
For travelers passing through Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Lufthansa also links the anniversary year to a permanent exhibition at Lufthansa Group Hangar One, a new conference and visitor center near the airline's campus and airport operations footprint.
The practical traveler takeaway is simple. Lufthansa's centennial is not a schedule disruption story, but it can still change what you see on your trip, which aircraft you may want to target, and how much flexibility you should keep if you are trying to fly a specific tail number or cabin product.
The Lufthansa 100th anniversary flights program adds special liveries, onboard branding, and a Frankfurt based exhibition in 2026, which matters most to travelers who want to plan around themed aircraft or aviation history stops.
Who Is Affected
Most passengers will experience the anniversary as light branding, such as the emblem on boarding passes and in cabin touchpoints, plus occasional marketing campaigns in airports and city centers.
A smaller group will care a lot more. Aviation enthusiasts, frequent flyers, and travelers booking milestone trips often want to ride a specific aircraft type or livery. Lufthansa's lead anniversary aircraft is a Boeing 787-9, and Lufthansa says it will enter scheduled service within weeks of its late December 2025 arrival, with five more anniversary liveries to follow and the full set expected later in 2026.
Travelers connecting through Lufthansa's main hubs, especially Frankfurt and Munich Airport (MUC), are also the most likely to notice anniversary visibility because that is where Lufthansa's long haul banks, lounges, and operational center of gravity concentrate. Even when your flight is not on a specially painted jet, the branding is designed to show up in the airport flow and onboard experience.
If you are planning to visit Lufthansa Group Hangar One, your trip becomes partly an airport adjacency trip. Lufthansa says the Hangar One concept pairs a visitor and conference center with permanent display aircraft, including a restored Junkers Ju 52 and a Lockheed L-1649A Super Star, with the opening timed to the anniversary year.
What Travelers Should Do
If your goal is simply to enjoy the centennial vibe, do nothing special. You will likely see the anniversary emblem on your boarding pass or in airport signage, and that is the intended low friction experience for most customers. If you want to actively seek out the special livery aircraft, treat it like a bonus, not a promise, because airlines regularly swap aircraft for maintenance, weather recovery, and fleet positioning needs.
If you want to fly the lead anniversary aircraft, focus on close in verification rather than booking assumptions made months ahead. In the week before departure, check your booking and operational status tools for the aircraft registration, and look for D-ABPU if you are targeting the "Berlin" 787-9 specifically. Recheck again the day before travel and again on departure day, because last minute swaps are common when an aircraft goes tech or when schedule recovery needs a different tail.
If you are planning a Frankfurt area trip around Hangar One, build a buffer just like you would for any airport adjacent activity. Give yourself room for flight delays, surface traffic, and security rules that can limit where visitors can linger near active airside operations. Over the next 24 to 72 hours before your visit, monitor Lufthansa's newsroom updates for any changes to exhibition access details, event timing, or customer campaigns that could shift crowds and hotel pricing around Frankfurt during peak celebration windows.
For related Lufthansa planning that affects real trip outcomes beyond the anniversary, frequent travelers may also want to revisit Lufthansa's accessibility and loyalty changes that have already been rolling out. Lufthansa Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Support Onboard can matter for smoother airport interactions, and Lufthansa's Miles & More adds points for CO2-offsetting packages can change how you price out sustainability add ons versus status goals.
Background
Lufthansa traces its centennial to the first "Luft Hansa," founded on January 6, 1926, with the original airline's maiden flight on April 6, 1926. Lufthansa also emphasizes that today's Deutsche Lufthansa AG is legally rooted in the postwar re establishment that began in 1953, with flight operations resuming in 1955, which is why the anniversary messaging often pairs reflection on the brand's longer history with the modern company's second century framing.
The company is also explicitly addressing the hardest part of its historical record. Lufthansa describes the Nazi era as its darkest chapter, stating that the airline became part of the regime and played an active role, and that the centennial is being used to further examine responsibility based on historical research. For travelers, that context matters less for day to day trip mechanics, but it does shape how Lufthansa is presenting the anniversary as both celebration and accountability.
Operationally, special livery programs can create small but real ripple effects across the travel system, even when they are not disruptions. At the source, the airline must route specific aircraft through paint, maintenance checks, and crew familiarization cycles, then keep those aircraft in rotation without excessive downtime. Downstream, those constraints can increase the odds of equipment swaps when an anniversary jet needs maintenance, which can change seat maps, premium cabin counts, Wi-Fi systems, or even cargo capacity on a given flight. At the airport layer, the arrival of a showcase aircraft can attract plane spotters and spectators, concentrating crowds in viewing areas and occasionally raising demand for nearby hotels and local transport during peak celebration moments.
Lufthansa's own rollout illustrates that dynamic. The airline says the first special livery 787-9 arrived at Frankfurt in late December 2025 to visible interest from travelers and spotters, and it expects the broader anniversary fleet to be phased in across 2026 rather than appearing all at once.