Lufthansa was the premier European carrier to operate the Boeing 747s, receiving its first 747-100 in February 1970. Only three of this variant were delivered to the German flag carrier, which chose instead to concentrate on the 200 series, of which they subsequently operated nineteen machines. The bulk of Lufthansa's -200 fleet were Combi models, although they also operated a few freighters. It is noteworthy that Lufthansa was the first airline to operate the freighter variant.