The stylized crane, now famous worldwide, first took off in 1919 for the Deutsche Luft-Reederei. Seven years later, on April 6, 1926, Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded in Berlin through the merger of the two airlines Deutscher Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr. The name was intended to recall the Hanseatic League, the historically significant association of German merchants in the Middle Ages. To mark its 100th anniversary in 2026, Lufthansa has unveiled a Dreamliner in a unique design. The special livery features a blue fuselage with a white crane hovering above, its wings merging into the wings of the aircraft. This makes the wings of the aircraft appear to be the wings of the crane. Designed as a trademark by graphic designer and architect Otto Firle back in 1918, the crane has become Lufthansa's unmistakable symbol worldwide over the decades. The Boeing 787-9 with the registration D-ABPU is scheduled to enter regular service in December, heralding the start of the centenary in 2026. This extraordinary Dreamliner is available from Herpa as a high-quality, fully-assembled model for even the most demanding collectors in the 1/500 and 1/200 scales, as well as part of the extremely popular SnapFit series as an easy-to-assemble push-fit model.
