Founded on 6 January 1926, Lufthansa – Germany’s national airline and currently one of the world’s leading carriers – is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
To mark the occasion, the company decided to give some of its aircraft a special dark blue livery featuring a large white crane – a symbol of the Lufthansa logo – on the fuselage.
Among the passenger aircraft already featuring the special ”XXL crane” livery are the Airbus A380, A350 and two A320neo jets, as well as the Boeing 787-9. Most recently, another aircraft from the Lufthansa fleet has joined them – the iconic Jumbo Jet.
The aeroplane in question is the Boeing 747-8 with the registration D-ABYN, which received its new livery in San Bernardino, California. On 5 March 2026, the aircraft, christened Niedersachsen (after Lower Saxony, one of the German lands), returned to its home airport in Frankfurt under flight number LH9913, where it was welcomed by aviation spotters, enthusiasts and journalists.
The following day, the “Queen of the Skies”, as the 747 is also commonly referred to, began its scheduled service with regular flights to Los Angeles in the United States.
In autumn 2026, one of Lufthansa’s Airbus A350-1000 jets is expected to join the group of airliners featuring the special 100th anniversary livery, completing the fleet as the seventh aeroplane.
Photos: Lufthansa 747-830 (D-ABYN) 100th Anniversary Livery at the San Bernardino International Airport on March 3, 2026. © Lufthansa Group
Information from Lufthansa Group press release were used.
