Lufthansa unveils Airbus A321neo designed by employees to mark100th anniversary
March 27, 2026
Lufthansa has unveiled a special Airbus A321neo featuring a unique livery designed by employees as part of the airline’s 100th anniversary celebrations.
Staff stories take flight as Lufthansa celebrates a century in aviation
The aircraft, registered D-AEIM and named “Hamm,” carries a series of illustrations and historical motifs created from stories submitted by staff across the Lufthansa Group. The airline said the design highlights the people behind the company’s history, under the anniversary theme “Made by many. Remembered by all.”
According to Lufthansa, employees across the Lufthansa Group were invited via the company intranet to submit personal anecdotes, ideas, and memories linked to the airline.
A jury then selected 20 entries, after which employees voted for their favourites. Twelve motifs will now appear on the A321neo. The airline will add more employee motifs over the course of the year.
Passengers flying on the jet can scan the QR codes next to each motif, which link to a landing page that reveals the story behind it.
A flying gallery of Lufthansa history
The selected designs combine personal anecdotes with moments from the airline’s past.
One motif recalls the first inter-German scheduled flight following the fall of the Berlin Wall, linking Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1989. Another illustrates the story of two flight attendants who met during a ski outing while on layover in Vancouver—using an illustration from the flight attendants themselves.
Other elements highlight Lufthansa’s workforce and heritage, including an image of the airline’s first two female pilots, Nicola Lisy and Evi Hetzmannseder, and a design from Lufthansa Technik employees symbolising teamwork through interlocking hands.
“All of our colleagues are part of Lufthansa’s history,” Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter said in a statement. “Whether in the air or on the ground, every person who works for Lufthansa defines our airline and makes it what it is. With this special livery, we want to honour their work and tell Lufthansa’s history from their perspective.”
The images are placed into mats and integrated into the design of the XXL crane, which extends across the entire aircraft.
Lufthansa artfully marks 100 years in the air
The A321neo is part of a wider fleet-wide anniversary campaign marking 100 years since the founding of Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926.
Several aircraft types have already received commemorative liveries during the centenary year, including:
- Airbus A320neo
- Airbus A350-900
- Airbus A380
- Boeing 747-8
- Boeing 787-9
Additional aircraft—including the A350-1000—will join the anniversary fleet later this year.
In February, Lufthansa unveiled an Airbus A321-200 (registration D-AISZ) painted in a historic “parable” design inspired by the airline’s 1950s livery on the Lockheed Super Star. The A321 with “parable” livery debuted on a flight into Frankfurt, as part of a year of centenary activities focused on brand heritage and design.
The airline will display a Lockheed L-1649A Super Star and a Junkers Ju 52 in the new Lufthansa Group Hangar One conference and visitor centre at Frankfurt Airport, due to open in April.
The airline also launched a visual campaign telling the company’s history in posters representing the different artistic styles it has employed in its marketing over the decades.
“Lufthansa’s 100th founding anniversary represents a history that is carried by people – by employees as well as by passengers who have placed their trust in the brand across generations,” Michelle Mynhardt, Head of Brand Marketing and Customer Relations at Lufthansa, said of the visual campaign.
With its interactive storytelling, the latest anniversary A321neo turns a narrowbody jet into a flying tribute to the people who have shaped Lufthansa’s first century of operations. This special A321neo livery will fly Lufthansa employees’ personal stories across Europe.
Featured Image: Lufthansa
