Lufthansa's first Boeing 787-9 was officially christened "Berlin". The ceremony was performed by Franziska Giffey, Governing Mayor of the German capital. On December 1, 2022, the machine will be deployed once to New York (Newark).

The D-ABPA is the first Dreamliner in the Lufthansa fleet. On Monday, this Boeing 787-9 was christened the name of the German capital by Berlin's Mayor Franziska Giffey. Historically, this is the seventh machine to bear the baptismal name of Berlin. The predecessor company Deutsche Luft Hansa AG had its headquarters at Berlin-Tempelhof Airport until 1945.

The Boeing 787-9 is already the seventh Lufthansa aircraft to be called "Berlin". On September 16, 1960, Willy Brandt christened a Boeing 707 for the first time in the name of the capital. It was the first aircraft to be named after Lufthansa was re-established in 1953. Since then, it has been a company tradition for aircraft to be named after German cities. The predecessor of the Dreamliner was the sixth "Berlin": an Airbus A380 with the registration D-AIMI. It was christened on May 22, 2012 by the then Governing Mayor at Tegel Airport and shut down during the pandemic.

“The first Dreamliner in our long-haul fleet is called 'Berlin' because the company has a long and special relationship with the capital. Lufthansa has been a strong partner of the German capital since it was founded in Berlin in 1926. Since we were allowed to fly to Berlin again in 1990, no other airline has brought more travelers to the region. With the new Boeing 787 'Berlin', we proudly carry the name of the German capital into the world,” says CEO Carsten Spohr.

The "old Luft Hansa", which was based in Berlin, ceased to exist in 1945. Today's aviation company was founded a few years later and is therefore legally unrelated to its historical predecessor. Also, German airlines and thus also Lufthansa were not allowed to fly to the German federal capital Berlin until 1990. Background: Due to the division of the city, the Allies have decreed that only their carriers are allowed to fly to/from Berlin.

The Lufthansa Group now sees itself as the largest provider at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. In the coming winter timetable, the airlines in the Lufthansa Group will be offering almost a third of all flights to and from Berlin. In the summer of 2023, the Lufthansa Group will offer around 40 percent of all flights, more than twice as large as that of the second largest carrier at the location. In addition, the Group is represented here with all of its important business areas – as is otherwise only the case in Frankfurt.

“Lufthansa and the German capital share a long tradition. The company was founded in Berlin in 1926 and rose to become one of the world's leading airlines. Today, the Lufthansa Group connects Berlin with the rest of the world. Long-haul flights to and from BER are very important for our economic development. Our trade fairs, congresses and the strong hospitality industry in Berlin also live from this. I am very pleased to be able to christen Lufthansa's first Dreamliner 'Berlin' today – as it should be with Berliner Weisse. I wish 'Berlin' always a good flight”, says Franziska Giffey, Governing Mayor of Berlin.

From December, the D-ABPA will be in service on the route from Frankfurt to New York (Newark). The Dreamliner will have its first commercial flight on October 19 from Frankfurt to Munich. From this point on, the "Berlin" flies the domestic German route three times a day. In this way, the necessary training flights can be completed and as many crews as possible can be trained.