Luxair has formally welcomed its first two company-owned Boeing 737-8s, although the aircraft did not arrive together: the first has already been flying commercially for nearly two weeks, while the second reached Luxembourg only days ago.
The Luxembourg flag carrier presented the two aircraft at a ceremony in its maintenance hangar at Luxembourg Airport on August 28, marking the start of direct deliveries from a Boeing order that has changed considerably since it was first placed three years ago.
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The aircraft are LX-LBC and LX-LBD. LX-LBC was ferried from Boeing Field in Seattle to Luxembourg via Keflavik on July 17-18 and entered commercial service on August 15. LX-LBD left Boeing Field on August 25, also routing through Keflavik before reaching Luxembourg.
Both aircraft are configured for 186 passengers and are the first factory-new 737-8s delivered directly to Luxair under its Boeing order.
Two leased MAX 8s arrived in 2023
Luxair is not new to the 737 MAX. It has operated two leased 737-8s since 2023, meaning the airline currently has four aircraft of the type in service.
Those aircraft, LX-LBK and LX-LBL, were built in 2018 and were originally intended for Air Italy. Both spent extended periods in storage before joining Luxair.
LX-LBL arrived in Luxembourg in June 2023 and entered service shortly afterward, while LX-LBK followed in September.
The arrangement was planned as a bridge to the arrival of Luxair's directly ordered aircraft. When Boeing announced an additional Luxair order at the Paris Air Show in June 2023, the manufacturer said the airline would initially lease two 737-8s before receiving its first directly purchased examples.
737 MAX order has changed
Luxair's MAX acquisition has evolved considerably since its first order. The airline ordered four 737-8s in March 2023 and followed three months later with an order for four 737-7s, which would have made it the European launch customer for the smallest MAX variant.
In July 2024, Luxair added two 737-10s and secured options for another two. The composition has since changed. At the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2026, Boeing and Luxair disclosed that the airline's firm order had grown to 12 aircraft: eight 737-8s and four 737-10s.
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The four 737-7s included in the previous plan are no longer part of the current order mix, having been converted to the larger 737-8.
Luxair also converted its two existing 737-10 options into firm orders and secured two new options for the variant.
The result is a firm commitment for eight 737-8s and four 737-10s, plus options for another two 737-10s.
The changes came while certification delays affected both ends of the MAX family. The US Federal Aviation Administration certified the 737-7 earlier this month, while certification of the larger 737-10 is still pending.
E2s are reshaping fleet as well
The Boeing aircraft are part of a fleet renewal and expansion program valued by Luxair at more than €1 billion, but the airline is simultaneously introducing another new-generation aircraft family.
Luxair received its first Embraer E195-E2 in November 2025 and currently has four of the type in service. The airline's original order covered six E195-E2s.
Its Embraer commitment was expanded at Farnborough in July, when Luxair converted purchase rights for three E190-E2s into firm orders and added another purchase right.
The carrier therefore has nine E2s on firm order: six E195-E2s and three E190-E2s. The first E190-E2 is expected at the end of 2028.
The new Boeing and Embraer aircraft will progressively alter a 25-aircraft fleet that currently includes 11 Boeing 737s, 10 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops and four E195-E2s.
Alongside the four 737-8s, Luxair still operates three 737-700s and four 737-800s. The older 737s have an average age of about 14 years, compared with less than five years for the MAX fleet.
