Lufthansa celebrates 100 years since the first flights in Berlin | News
It is a special date for Lufthansa and a special day for all employees who shaped the airline with the crane logo: Exactly 100 years ago today – on April 6, 1926 – Lufthansa (then: “Luft Hansa”) took to the skies during its first flights. On that day, two planes took off from Berlin-Tempelhof airport with destinations Zurich and Cologne. Exactly a century later, this special date was fittingly celebrated as the chronological culmination of the anniversary year on Easter Monday – including two special flights that followed the historic routes of the inaugural flights.
A Boeing 787-9 and an Airbus A350-900, both in blue anniversary livery with a white XXL crane, had taken off that morning from Frankfurt and Munich. On board: hundreds of Lufthansa employees with their partners, who, as lucky winners of an internal lottery, were invited by the company to take part in the anniversary flights and be personally present in Berlin on this special day. In total, more than 600 guests, including passengers on the fully booked special flights and invitees from the political and aviation sectors, celebrated the highlight of the anniversary year at a festive event in Berlin. Among them was the mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner. A special highlight: the Boeing 787-9 in its anniversary livery was officially named “Berlin” during the ceremony.
Jens Ritter, CEO of Lufthansa Airlines, emphasized in his speech: “Today Lufthansa celebrates its anniversary! Driven by a pioneering spirit and passion, it all started here in Berlin. Exactly 100 years ago, the first flights of the original Lufthansa took off from here. Today, Berlin is one of the largest locations of our company. About 2,000 Lufthansa employees live and work in the capital region. Lufthansa and the Group’s subsidiaries airlines will remain strong partners in Berlin in the future.”
Kai Wegner, Mayor of Berlin, emphasized in his welcome speech: “100 years of Lufthansa is an impressive anniversary. On April 6, 1926, two flights took off from Berlin to Zurich and Cologne, establishing Lufthansa’s long-term connection with Berlin. To this day, Lufthansa remains an excellent partner for Berlin – and I am pleased that on the occasion of this special anniversary we are naming the Boeing 787-9 ‘Berlin.'”
Routes of the inaugural flights re-enacted
Around 3:15 p.m., the Boeing 787-9, previously called “Berlin”, and the Airbus A350-900 with the registration D-AIXL then departed from the capital to Zurich and Cologne. During their journey, the special flights flew over the locations where stops were made on April 6, 1926. The Boeing 787-9 flew from Berlin via Halle, Erfurt and Stuttgart to Zurich, while the A350-900 flew via Magdeburg to Cologne. The flight numbers of the two flights, LH1926 and LH2026, also commemorated the special anniversary.
Lufthansa will celebrate its 100th founding anniversary in 2026. Berlin plays a special role in the history of the airline: the first Lufthansa was founded here on January 6, 1926. Today, the Lufthansa Group is one of the four largest airlines in the world and the largest aviation group in Europe. The company is the clear market leader in Berlin. About 30 percent of all flights in the capital are operated by airlines within the group.
The ceremonial highlight of Lufthansa’s anniversary year will take place on April 15 with a ceremony in Frankfurt. On this day, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also expected to be present at Lufthansa Group Hangar One, the new conference and visitors center at Frankfurt Airport.
