Lufthansa’s tenth Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental landed at Frankfurt Airport last week, one of seven brand-new airliners that will be joining the group in February and March.

The group expects to add 23 ultra-modern commercial aircraft to its fleet this year.

Following a final fit-out at Lufthansa Technik in Frankfurt and operational approval, the Boeing 747-8 could start scheduled passenger flights by the end of February. The new Boeing aircraft is around 30 per cent quieter than the older model.

“With these new, state-of-the-art aircraft, we are investing in both passenger comfort for customers and the ecological sustainability of flight operations,” said Christoph Franz, chairman and CEO of Lufthansa Group, on the occasion of the arrival of the tenth of 19 new jumbo jets in Frankfurt.

This year’s deliveries are part of a comprehensive fleet modernisation programme under way at Lufthansa Group Airlines. A total of 261 aircraft will be delivered by 2025, at a list price of €32 billion.

In 2013, Lufthansa recorded the best figures for punctuality in the company’s history. More than 85 per cent of all departing flights left the hubs in Frankfurt and Munich within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.