Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline based in Frankfurt, has signed a contract for 35 new aircraft from Airbus, confirming an earlier announcement by the airline in September. The order is for five A319s, ten A320s and 15 A321s, as well as five long range A330s. In addition, the agreement also includes options for a further 30 A320 Family aircraft.

The choice of engines for the aircraft is still to be made. Cabin configurations will be similar to the Airbus single-aisle and long-range aircraft in Lufthansa's fleet.

Lufthansa is one of the longest standing and largest Airbus customers worldwide. Currently Lufthansa has nearly 150 Airbus aircraft in its mainline fleet. These include 14 A300-600, 12 A330s, 40 A340s plus 82 A320 family aircraft. In addition, Lufthansa has 15 A380 and five A340s on order.

"We are proud that one of the most successful airlines in the world once more continues with A320 Family aircraft and A330s to strengthen its fleet that is already one of the biggest in the world", said Louis Gallois, President and CEO of Airbus, and EADS co-CEO. "This underlines Lufthansa's commitment to a modern and highly fuel efficient fleet to meet the demands of today and tomorrow", he added.

The new A330-300s will join Lufthansa's large A330/A340 fleet, providing seamless comfort and efficiency throughout the airline's network.

Both the Airbus A320 Family, comprising the A318, the A319, the A320 as well as the A321 and the Airbus long-range aircraft such as the A330 are market leaders in their segments. The A320 Family is the world's best selling single-aisle aircraft and forms part of the fleet of virtually all network carriers in the world. They also offer an unequalled level of operational commonality.

Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE Systems.

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