Lufthansa bets A350 can turn all Munich long-haul profitable

Lufthansa is banking on Airbus' latest A350 wide-body jet to shore up its Munich hub, where the deployment of less efficient planes means normally lucrative long-haul flights are losing money. The first 15 of 25 A350s ordered by Lufthansa are to be based in Munich, with the composite-fuselage, twin-engine model providing a 25% fuel saving compared with the 4-turbine Airbus A340s currently used there. “The new A350 fleet is a big step toward profitability’’ for those routes lagging behind, Wilken Bormann, who heads Lufthansa’s operations in Munich, said. Two A350s are now flying from the secondary hub, with the third delivered Saturday, and the number is set to reach 6 this year and 12 by the end of 2018, he said. Lufthansa is focusing on Munich after turning all inter-continental routes from its main Frankfurt base profitable last year. <br/>