Germany received its third VIP Airbus A350 plane, which replaced the country's old fleet of unreliable A340s

06.06.2024 - 11:17 / insider.com

Boasting the country's national colors of black, red, and gold on the fuselage and wingtips, the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, has received its third and final fully-equipped governmental A350-900.

Inside the aircraft, which is named "Kurt Schumacher" after the German politician, is a new VIP cabin retrofitted by the aircraft service provider Lufthansa Technik.

The jet is used for political and parliamentary transport, carrying top officials like Germany's president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"Kurt Schumacher" was the first A350 built for the Luftwaffe, initially delivered in 2020.

Its Germany's third A350 aircraft fit with the swanky new cabin. The first two A350s complete with the VIP interior were sister planes "Konrad Adenauer" and "Theodor Heuss."

These aircraft were delivered factory-fresh in November 2022 and March 2023, respectively, with the new cabin already installed. The "Kurt Schumacher" A350 was sent back to Lufthansa Technik in early 2023 to get its retrofit.

"Only a few small accents in the interior, individual reminiscences of the respective namesakes, now distinguish "Adenauer," "Heuss," and "Schumacher" from each other," the company said.

Aside from the minor differences, Lufthansa Technik described the A350's new uniform fleet as having generous seating, an appropriate number of bathrooms, and a modern galley.

It represents a significant change from the interim cabin that was initially installed on the jet four years ago.

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The "Kurt Schumacher" A350 once flew without a VIP cabin because, at the time, Germany was flying unreliable Airbus A340 government planes riddled with maintenance problems and needed replacements quickly put into service.

"In contrast to the [interim's] open cabin design, the various functional areas for political-parliamentary flight operations are now structurally separated from one another," Lufthansa Technik said after the delivery of the first VIP-equipped A350 in 2022.

The three A350 replacements cost Germany $1.3 billion, Aerotime Hub reported. This included about $325 million for the cabins and about $312 million for missile defense systems.

A company spokesperson told Business Insider that, due to security reasons, interior shots of the aircraft have not been released to the public.

Given this is the first VIP A350 project for Lufthansa Technik, there are no prior fully-built cabin designs for reference. The company has a concept for a corporate A350 that it released in 2016, which includes things like a bed, showers, and a spa.

It's likely Germany's private fleet will have a similar grandiose design and aesthetic, but it will also have those specific governmental touches.

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