On September 28, 2018, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved the purchase of 27 short- and medium-haul aircraft. Purchase options for 24 Airbus A320neos and three A321neos will be converted into firm orders. According to the Lufthansa Group, the decision is based on the positive market and earnings development , which prompted the company to ensure the necessary fleet size in the coming years. The total investment of this order amounts to a list price of about $3 billion. This increases the total number of A320neos and A321neos orders to 149 for the Group, 13 of them are already operating with Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) .

The A320neo sand A321neos (short for "New Engine Option") are scheduled for delivery in 2023 and 2024. Ten of the 27 new aircraft are intended for the Group's subsidiary airline SWISS, the remaining aircraft will be in service by other flight operations within the Group. One part of the order will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines (PW1100G), the other with LEAP-1A engines from CFM International. This means that both engine types will continue to be available to Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA)  in roughly equal proportions for the “Neo” family.

The innovative engine technologies developed by Pratt & Whitney and CFM International as well as the aerodynamic wingtips (sharklets) with which the aircraft are equipped reduce fuel consumption significantly by up to 20 percent per seat kilometer. As all Lufthansa A320 Family aircraft, the A320neo and A321neo are serially equipped with noise-reducing vortex generators. An A320neo taking off has a noise carpet that is around 50 percent smaller than that of other aircraft of this type.