11 cities, 6 countries: Where Lufthansa will send its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet in January 2026
January 11, 2026
2026 marks the start of Lufthansa’s centenary year, having originally commenced operations in April 1926. To commemorate the occasion, in December 2025, the German carrier received a brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner bearing a special commemorative livery – the first of six aircraft types within the airline’s fleet that will wear the new scheme throughout 2026.
The latest Boeing 787 to join the carrier’s fleet, registered as D-ABPU and named ‘Berlin’, joined 11 others already flying with the airline, with a further 15 examples to be delivered over the coming years.
The type has replaced Boeing 747s, Airbus A330s and A340s on some of the carrier’s longest routes from its long-haul hub at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany.
In this article, Aerospace Global News looks at where Lufthansa will be sending its small but growing fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners in January of this centenary year and looks forward to the imminent entry into service of the company’s commemorative aircraft D-ABPU in the coming weeks.
Lufthansa and the Boeing 787
As stated, the German flag carrier already operates 12 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with its current fleet. The first (registered D-ABPA) was delivered to the company in August 2022, with the most recent flying direct from Boeing’s plant in Everett near Seattle to Frankfurt on 22 December 2025. According to Planespotters.net, the average age of the current fleet is 2.9 years.
The 12 aircraft are operated in two distinct cabin layouts, depending on whether they have been fitted with the new Lufthansa Allegris interior.
The older aircraft are configured to carry 294 passengers in a three-class layout (26 in business class, 21 in premium economy and 247 in economy).
The newer aircraft in the fleet already feature the Allegris products and accommodate 287 passengers – 28 in business class, 28 in premium economy and 231 in economy. All aircraft are powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
The airline has an additional 15 aircraft on order, with all expected to be the middle-sized variant, the 787-9, matching the current type flown. All are expected to be delivered featuring the new Allegris interior layout.
Lufthansa Dreamliner Routes – January 2026
With 12 active Boeing 787-9s in service by the end of the month, Lufthansa will be sending its Dreamliner fleet to destinations worldwide. Indeed, 11 destinations across six countries will see 787 service, all from Frankfurt, where the airline’s 787 fleet is based.
North America
Frankfurt (FRA) to Atlanta (ATL)
Operating daily throughout January 2026, this route is 4,615 miles (7,384 km) in length and takes around nine hours and 30 minutes westbound (LH444), while the return leg (LH445) takes around eight hours and 30 minutes.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Austin (AUS)
Austin in Texas, has become a popular destination for European airlines since the end of the pandemic. Lufthansa will serve the city three times per week from Frankfurt in January 2026 using its 787 fleet.
With a route length of 5,310 miles (8,496 km), the outbound flight from Frankfurt (LH468) takes around ten hours and 30 minutes to complete, while the return flight (LH469) takes around an hour less.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Detroit (DTW)
With a stage length of 4.162 miles (6,659 km), the airline uses a mixture of Boeing 787s and the occasional Airbus A340-300 on this route, at least until the latter is phased out. Operating daily, the flight from Frankfurt takes around eight hours to complete the westbound sector as LH442. The return flight to Frankfurt (LH443) takes around seven hours to complete.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Newark-Liberty International (EWR)
While also flying twice-daily to New York’s JFK Airport (JFK), Lufthansa also flies daily between Frankfurt and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
The route length is 3,870 miles or 6,192 km. Taking around seven hours and 30 minutes outbound (LH402) and around an hour less inbound (LH403), the route will be operated by the 787 12 times during January 2026, while the carrier’s Boeing 747-400 fills in for the rest of the days.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
One of Lufthansa’s newer transatlantic services, flights on the 4,278-mile (6,844 km) route began in June 2024, operating five times weekly in the northern summer before dropping to three times per week in the winter months.
In January 2026, LH408 will depart from Frankfurt 14 times using Boeing 787s, which are planned to take around nine hours to fly the westbound route.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Toronto (YYZ)
One of the airline’s shortest 787 routes to North America, the 3,953-mile (6,324 km) flight (LH470) takes around eight hours to complete the westbound sector, while the flight back to Frankfurt takes around seven hours to complete.
South America
Frankfurt (FRA) to Bogota (BOG)
Flying to the capital of Colombia six times weekly, Lufthansa’s Boeing 787s take around 11 hours to complete the westbound flight (LH542) to South America, while the return leg (LH543) takes around ten hours returning to Germany. The route length is 5,648 miles (9,361 km).
Frankfurt (FRA) to Rio De Janeiro (GIG)
The German carrier will fly five times weekly to Brazil’s second-largest city in January 2025 as LH500/LH501. The 5,932-mile (9,491km) route is the longest on the airline’s 787 current route network and takes around eleven hours and 30 minutes outbound, while the return leg takes around an hour less.
Africa
Frankfurt (FRA) to Lagos (LOS)
From the longest Lufthansa Boeing 787 route to the shortest with Frankfurt to Lagos in Nigeria, covering just 3,009 miles (4,814 km). The flight operates six times a week, with one of those flights heading on to Malabo in Senegal after its stopover in Lagos.
The flights between Frankfurt and Lagos (LH568) are around six hours and 30 minutes, while the direct run from Lagos to Frankfurt (LH569) is around five hours and 30 minutes. The sector between Lagos and Malabo takes around an hour.
India
Frankfurt (FRA) to Mumbai (BOM)
Operating daily between the two cities, flights LH756 and LH757 cover the 4,086-mile (6,537km) route daily in January 2026 using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. The flight south takes around seven hours and 30 minutes to complete, while the return leg to Frankfurt takes around eight hours and 45 minutes.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Hyderabad (HYD)
Slightly longer than the route to Mumbai, at 4,425 miles (7,080km), the flights between Frankfurt and Hyderabad take marginally longer to complete. The flight from Frankfurt (LH752) takes around eight hours, while the flight from Hyderabad lasts around nine hours. The flights operate five times weekly in January 2026.
Lufthansa’s special 100th anniversary Boeing 787 Dreamliner
On 22 December 2025, Lufthansa’s 12th Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner D-ABPU set off from Boeing Field in Everett, Seattle, for its delivery flight to Frankfurt, which would become the new plane’s operating base.
The aircraft set off from Everett at 15:37 local time, arriving in Frankfurt the following morning at 09:38 local time after its overnight flight.
The delivery flight, with a stage length of 5,081 miles (8,130 km) flight took D-ABPU nine hours and one minute to complete.
Before leaving the US, the aircraft had a special 100th anniversary livery applied, which will also be ap[piled to five other types within the Lufthansa fleet over the coming year.
The commemorative colour scheme features a midnight blue fuselage backdrop with the airline’s Flying Crane motif emblazoned across the aircraft in white.
The figures ‘100’ and ‘1926 / 2026’ also appear on the rear fuselage in light blue, on the left and right sides, respectively.
With the 12th aircraft now delivered, the Ferman airline is due a further 15 of the type before its original Dreamliner order is fulfilled.
By the time all 27 are in service, the older types within the Lufthansa fleet will have been withdrawn. The 787-9 is also expected to allow the carrier to open up new long-haul routes to destinations across the globe from its Frankfurt base.
Featured image: Lufthansa
