Lufthansa has completed the special anniversary livery on its Airbus A321neo “Hamm”, registered D-AIEM, featuring twelve personal stories from its employees. The aircraft’s design was gradually expanded throughout the anniversary year, and it will continue flying on European routes in this livery until the end of 2028.

Under the slogan “Made by many. Remembered by all”, the project honours the people who have shaped the airline over the decades. The designs connect employees’ personal experiences with events in the carrier’s history, with the final two additions recalling repatriation flights during the pandemic and new travel opportunities around the time of German reunification.

One of the designs depicts two arms embracing an aircraft’s tail fin. It was proposed by a cabin crew member in memory of a flight from Frankfurt to Bogotá on 19 March 2020, when he and his fellow crew members set out to bring home travellers stranded by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Lufthansa’s announcement, many had spent seven days waiting at the airport for their journey home. The design symbolises connecting passengers with their loved ones, particularly in exceptional circumstances.

The other new design draws on the experience of an employee who helped establish Lufthansa’s first sales offices in Dresden from June 1990 and celebrated German reunification in Berlin on 3 October that year. Her design shows people holding hands in front of the Brandenburg Gate, walking together towards a new future. For her, the airline tickets sold at the time also represented a measure of newfound freedom.

The stories were collected through an internal call for submissions, after which a jury shortlisted twenty proposals. Employees then voted to select the final twelve. The chosen designs are displayed in frames around the large Lufthansa crane, alongside historical photographs and events, including a photograph of the airline’s first two female pilots, Nicola Lisy and Evi Hetzmannseder.

Each frame has an accompanying QR code linking to a website with further information about the story depicted. Beyond visually marking the anniversary, the special livery allows passengers to discover the experiences of the people behind the carrier’s daily operations.

The A321neo featuring employees’ stories forms part of Lufthansa’s wider centenary celebrations. According to the airline, two Airbus A320neos, one A350-900, one A380, one Boeing 747-8 and one Boeing 787-9 already wear the special anniversary livery featuring an oversized crane. Lufthansa’s first Airbus A350-1000 is expected to join them in November as the seventh aircraft in that anniversary fleet.