The History Of Lufthansa’s Football-Themed Aircraft

Once again, with another international football (soccer) tournament coming up where the German national football team will represent the country, the de facto flag carrier of Germany, Lufthansa, has introduced another batch of Fanhansa aircraft. In total, six of the airline’s aircraft would be rebranded to carry the Fanhansa name during the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.

The livery, a wordplay with its Lufthansa name, was first introduced in 2014. Then, Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup, and Germany beat Argentina in the final after extra time. While it was unconfirmed whether superstition was the reason the airline has continued introducing the Fanhansa livery for subsequent international football tournaments, the airline’s special name will return for UEFA Euro 2024, which will kick off on June 14, 2024.

FIFA World Cup 2014: Fanhansa’s debut

In a statement on May 13, 2014, Lufthansa said that it would become Fanhansa, swapping the liveries on a total of eight aircraft for the then-upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil. At the time, the airline pointed out that it was the first time in its 60-year history that the airline swapped out its name on the fuselage of certain aircraft in its fleet.

Photo: Lufthansa

Still, Lufthansa detailed that the first aircraft to receive the Fanhansa sticker on the side of the fuselage was an Airbus A321, which had entered service with the special livery on a flight between Munich Airport (MUC) and Hamburg Airport (HAM) on May 16, 2014. In addition to the A321, the German airline repainted two additional short-haul and five long-haul aircraft with the Fanhansa livery, including Boeing 747-8s. Alexander Schlaubitz, the then-Head of Marketing at Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, stated that Fanhansa was more than a logo on an aircraft because it was a surprise for its customers and a thank you to Germany’s fans.

“Over the coming days, we will be creating new travel experiences with a number of different promotions – there is no doubt that we will be flying the happiest fans to Brazil with Fanhansa, offering the best World Cup atmosphere and pure football fever. It will make Lufthansa the official carrier of all football fans.”

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UEFA Euro 2016

According to CPD Football, Lufthansa introduced a Fanhansa aircraft to fly the German national football team for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 tournament in France. In addition to the Fanhansa lettering appearing on the side of the fuselage, the Boeing 737-300, then registered as D-ABEK, also had the names of around 350 fans on the fuselage.

At the time, Schlaubitz stated that year’s UEFA Euro campaign was ‘Everyone’s Fanhansa.’ The idea was that football fans would join the airline as the German national football team flies to France, while other promotions by the airline would also focus on football-loving passengers.

Photo: DFB

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FIFA World Cup 2018

When Germany went to Russia to defend its World Cup title, despite multiple questions regarding the host country’s human rights record as well as involvement in military conflicts in Eastern Ukraine, Lufthansa introduced a different Fanhansa livery, pairing the wordplay with the word ‘Mannschaftflieger.’ A literal translation of the word means an aircraft of the (football) team, with the German national football team also being known as ‘Die Mannschaft.’

Photo: balipadma | Shutterstock

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FIFA World Cup 2022

While it was unclear why Lufthansa did not introduce a Fanhansa livery for the UEFA Euro 2020 championship, which was postponed due to the pandemic from 2020 to 2021, the Fanhansa livery returned for the FIFA World Cup 2022, hosted by Qatar. The campaign used an Airbus A330-300, registered as D-AIKQ.

Photo: Lufthansa

At the time, the German airline said that Lufthansa was an example of openness, tolerance, and diversity, with the airline enabling people from all nations and cultures to connect, welcoming everyone aboard regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, nationality, identity, or sexual orientation.

“And it is taking this same message – that Diversity Wins! – aloft and around the world, through the special “Fanhansa” livery which it has devised together with illustrator Peter Phobia and applied to its Airbus A330 D-AIKQ.”

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UEFA Euro 2024

Finally, the most recent Fanhansa appearance will be during the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, which is scheduled to begin on June 14. Lufthansa announced that it had already painted one Airbus A320 aircraft, registered as D-AIZG, with the special livery. Planespotters.net showed that three more aircraft have been rebranded as Fanhansa aircraft so far, including two Airbus A321neos.

Photo: Lufthansa

In addition to the special liveries, Lufthansa said that it would introduce special headrests and food trays on the aircraft, with the carrier serving special chocolates on all flights. Furthermore, entrances to one of the terminals at Munich Airport (MUC) has a huge scarf on display. The airline’s route network inspired the scarf’s design.

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