• 

  Lufthansa

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  LH/DLH

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport

  Year Founded:

  1953

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  Airline Group:

  Lufthansa Group

  CEO:

  Carsten Spohr

  Country:

  Germany

• 

  Airbus

  Stock Code:

  AIR

  Date Founded:

  1970-12-18

  CEO:

  Guillaume Faury

  Headquarters Location:

  Toulouse, France

  Key Product Lines:

  Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380

  Business Type:

  Planemaker

Lufthansa's Airbus A350-900s are among its most modern aircraft, and serve long-haul destinations all over the world. With Germany's national airline still waiting on almost 30 more deliveries of the type, it will be interesting to see how future deliveries differ from the first examples it received. However, one thing that will stay the same is its windows, with Lufthansa having decided against dimmable options.

Thanks, but no thanks

Ever since the Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' family hit the skies, passengers and crew have marveled at its electronically-dimmable windows. These have five different settings, giving those sitting at the window more flexibility than the traditional analog window blinds we have become accustomed to over the years. Meanwhile, the Airbus A350 is seen as the European manufacturer's rival to the 787.

As such, the question of when it will receive such technology has become of interest. In 2021, Simple Flying had the chance to test it on an A350 at a summit in Toulouse. More recently, aeroTELEGRAPH reported yesterday that Airbus had confirmed that the first A350 with dimmable windows will be delivered this year. However, Lufthansa won't be its customer, with a spokesperson stating that:

"Lufthansa has consciously decided against the dimmable windows in the Airbus A350."

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Why not?

Regarding the decision, aeroTELEGRAPH also noted that, according to Lufthansa, the costs of dimmable window technology hadn't been the main factor in declining its use on future Airbus A350 deliveries. Instead, the German flag carrier stated that the technology itself had been a primary factor in the decision.

While its specific qualms weren't mentioned, it is worth noting that dimmable windows have had their critics. Indeed, complaints from sleep-deprived early Dreamliner users raised the fact that such windows didn't offer as much darkness as traditional window blinds. This caused a rework of the technology, although, even with improvements, aeroTELEGRAPH notes that 100% darkness remains impossible.

There are also human factors at play. For example, as Simple Flying reported last year, passengers on American Airlines' Boeing 787s were becoming frustrated at the fact that cabin crew were locking the windows in certain settings. This prompted the carrier to ask its flight attendants to take a step back, allowing window seat passengers greater autonomy over the operation of the dimmable function.

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A modern widebody fleet

In terms of the future Airbus A350-900 deliveries that Lufthansa will receive without dimmable windows, ch-aviation.com shows that the German flag carrier has another 28 examples of the type on order. Combined with the 21 that already serve the airline, this will result in a 49-strong fleet for Airbus's next-generation widebody. Those already at Lufthansa are 4.3 years old on average.

Interestingly, last month also saw the first arrival at Lufthansa of an aircraft type that does have dimmable windows, namely the Boeing 787-9. This represents the first of 32 eventual deliveries, with the Dreamliner set to begin serving the German flag carrier next month. Initially, it will operate domestic proving flights.

Sources: aeroTELEGRAPH, ch-aviation.com