The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is set to play a key role in the modernization of Lufthansa’s widebody twinjet fleet, with current data made available by ch-aviation showing that the Cologne-based German flag carrier and Star Alliance founding member has 12 units of the 787-9 in its fleet. These aircraft are often heralded for their modernity, but did you know that some of Lufthansa’s incoming Boeing 787s aren’t as fresh as you might think?

A key case study in this is the 787-9 Dreamliner that is currently bearing the US-based Boeing test registration N879TQ. After almost two years of inactivity, this twin-aisle jetliner came back on the radar with a test flight at the end of 2025, and, yesterday, took to the skies for its first trip of 2026. All in all, that last test flight was only its ninth-ever cycle, despite the jet being almost six years old and originally ordered by Norwegian Air Sweden.

Back In The Skies

As seen in the map above, tracking data from Flightradar24 shows that N879TQ was airborne in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America yesterday, flying from Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon to Paine Field (PAE) in Seattle, Washington. The jet took to the skies at 2:19 pm local time yesterday afternoon, landing just over two hours later at 4:23 pm after flying several circuits over the north of Seattle.

Aviation Flights notes that this was the aircraft’s ninth flight overall, despite Planespotters.net correctly highlighting the fact that the jet, which bears the Manufacturer’s Serial Number 63349, is already 5.9 years old. This is because it was ordered, but not taken up, by another carrier at the start of the 2020s, namely Norwegian Air Sweden. Regardless, Lufthansa promises a modern experience on board its 787s, explaining that:

« Human Centric Lighting, a specially programmed, flexible lighting system, illuminates the cabin with warm red light, graduated intermediate tones, and colder blue light. (…) Light in the aircraft cabin is geared to the passengers’ biorhythms. »

From Norwegian To Lufthansa

So, why is it that Norwegian Air Sweden never took up this aircraft, resulting in it falling into the hands of Lufthansa after several years of uncertainty on the ground? A key reason behind this chain of events, as was the case with many major aviation developments at the start of the 2020s, was the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The start of the global health crisis initially saw Norwegian ground 14 of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

However, such was the impact of COVID-19 on Norwegian that the carrier ultimately chose to end its long-haul operations amid an operational restructuring program, with the group selling its existing 787s to airlines like Neos. As such, the Dreamliners that it had ordered but not yet had delivered ended up not being taken up by Norwegian, with SE-RXB (as it was then registered) ferried to Victorville for storage in September 2020.

The jet then spent 3.5 years on the ground, before flying from Victorville to Paine Field in March 2024 for further storage. Since then, delivery delays have made it advantageous for Lufthansa to acquire ‘white-tail’ 787s such as this one, and, as such, December 2024 saw it take its first flight in 21 months when it flew from Paine Field to Portland. That was its eighth flight, and yesterday’s return to Paine Field was cycle number nine.

Lufthansa’s 787 Fleet In A Nutshell

As previously mentioned, Lufthansa has already taken delivery of a grand total of 12 units of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with these jets clocking in at an average age of just 2.9 years old (compared to its fleet-wide mean figure of 14.9 years). Going forward, it has another 23 on order, meaning that its 787 fleet will almost triple in size as it eventually grows to 35 examples. However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing with the 787.

Indeed, per aeroLOPA, these jets were initially configured with a three-class layout with 294 seats. However, Lufthansa has since begun rolling out its new three-class ‘Allegris’ setup on the 787, which will instead see it carry 287 guests. Unfortunately, certification delays have hindered this rollout, with some business class seats unable to be used upon delivery. In any case, it beats the dense 338-seat setup that SE-RXB would have had.