Lufthansa will celebrate 100 years in 2026, when it will be specially marked with Lockheed L-1694A Super Star and JU 52 D-AQUI aircraft
Starting in 2026, the Lockheed L-1694A Super Star and JU 52 D-AQUI aircraft will receive a new home. The year is not chosen by chance, 2026 being the centenary year for Lufthansa.
In 2026, Lufthansa will celebrate 100 years since the company was founded on January 6, 1926 as Deutsche Luft Hansa AG. The company was launched in Berlin through the merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr. The first flight of the new airline followed on April 6, 1926.
Lufthansa at 100 years
Today's Deutsche Lufthansa AG is not the legal successor of the company founded in 1926, but of Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf, which was newly established in 1953. From 1954, the company bears the name Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and flight operations began on 1 April 1955. But the company is celebrating 100 years since the foundation stone that was the basis of the company today.
The historic Lockheed L-1694A Super Star and JU 52 D-AQUI aircraft have a very special place in Lufthansa history and in the hearts of all aviation fans. Lufthansa President and CEO Carsten Spohr said both aircraft will be given a new home to mark Lufthansa's 100th anniversary and will be permanently displayed in either Frankfurt or Munich.
Lockheed L-1694A Superstar and JU 52 D-AQUI are currently stored at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport. The "Superstar" has been dismantled in pieces for refurbishing, while the JU 52 is almost fully assembled. The JU 52 was built in 1936 at the Junkers factory in Dessau, while the Super Star had its maiden flight in 1956. These propeller-driven aircraft are among the most distinctive and historically significant.
On Monday, October 17, the newest aircraft in the Lufthansa fleet will pay a short visit to its famous predecessors. Lufthansa's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, D-ABPA, will make a stopover at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport as part of cabin crew training.
History of Lufthansa aircraft
Lufthansa was the last airline to operate Lockheed L-1694A Superstar aircraft, which were used on transatlantic flights. In the summer of 1959, Lufthansa scheduled non-stop flights to New York from Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Orly. Lockheed later converted two of Lufthansa's Starliners into freighters after the Boeing 707 replaced them on transatlantic passenger flights in the 1960s.
The JU 52 D-AQUI was one of the last three airworthy Ju 52/3m aircraft built in Dessau before 1945. The D-AQUI was built in the main Junkers factory in Dessau with the serial number 5489. The first flight had place on April 2, 1936. It was approved as D-AQUI on April 6, 1936. On April 10, 1936, the aircraft was handed over to Lufthansa and fitted with floats for use as a seaplane. D-AQUI was given the baptismal name Fritz Simon, after the Lufthansa pilot who died in an accident in 1931. This aircraft was retired only in 2018, at the age of 82 years and 21 flight hours.