Also, I find curious that the launch customer of said aircraft is the German carrier Lufthansa.
Why? Just because Airbus brings something new out, doesn't mean that LH will ignore other products in the market. LH were buying 737s well after the A320 was in service and continue to operate them. Maybe it fills a niche for them. They're not the only large long-haul operator not to operate 777s...
Then again, who knows what will happen there when they start to look for a replacement for their MD-11F fleet.
AF continue to be a major Boeing buyer, despite Airbuses being snapped together on their turf. If anyone was going to get political about it, one would've thought it'd more likely be them.