Lufthansa orders 12 new aircraft for 1bn euros

German airline Lufthansa announced plans Thursday to order 12 new aircraft -- including seven Airbus jets -- for a total list price of 1.0 billion euros ($1.4 billion). The German carrier said in a statement its supervisory board approved plans to purchase 12 new jets, including two new Airbus A380 super jumbos, an A330-300 and four Airbus A320s. In addition, Lufthansa would buy five new Embraer195s. "The new, modern, fuel-efficient aircraft will be delivered in stages from 2012," the statement said. Chief executive Christoph Franz said the purchase of the new aircraft "will serve primarily to ensure that we can meet short-term requirements while modernising and consolidating our European fleet until such time as new aircraft technologies are available." It was part of the group's strategy to deploy aircraft that were fuel efficient and had low noise and emissions, he said. The order will be financed from "our cash reserves or from external sources," Franz added, without giving any further details.