As of March 2026, the title for the "oldest" operational aircraft in the mainline Lufthansa fleet is a bit of a moving target due to the airline's massive 100th-anniversary fleet renewal program. However, the Airbus A321-100 and Airbus A340-300 remain the veteran workhorses. Specifically, some of the A321-100s have been in service for nearly 30 years, originally joining the fleet in the mid-1990s. While Lufthansa is actively retiring these in favor of modern A321neos, several A340-300s—a four-engine long-haul jet that is rare in 2026—still fly routes where high performance or specific capacity is needed. For the 100th anniversary this year, Lufthansa is celebrating its history by painting six modern aircraft (including a Boeing 787-9 and an A380) in special centenary liveries, but the true mechanical "elders" are those 1990s-era Airbus narrow-bodies that continue to link European cities with remarkable reliability despite their age.