On 10th September 1970 the first Boeing 747-200, the second generation of the 747, left the production line at the Boeing factory. This second generation of the jumbo jet have a greater range and more powerful engines than its predcessor. She took to the air on 11th October 1970, and by 1991 Boeing had delivered a total of 225 of this passenger-carrying specification to airlines across the globe.

From the late 1960s onwards Lufthansa, the West German national carrier (Germany was divided into East and West Germany after the Second World War and not reunified until 3rd October 1990), started acquiring jet aircraft to replace its post-war propellor-driven fleet. In 1970 the airline took delivery of its first wide bodied jet, a Boeing 747.

On 3rd October 1978, aircraft number 21588, was delivered to the German national airline Lufthansa. The aircraft was christened "Schleswig-Holstein" (the northernmost "Länder" in Germany) and assigned the registration D-ABYM. The aircraft was fitted with General Electric GE CF6-50E2 which provided 23,625 kg/52,500 lb of thrust.

D-ABYM was one of twenty-nine 747-200 aircraft acquired by Lufthansa over a number of years. As the airline acquired the new specifiation Boeing 747-400 aircraft from 1989, Lufthansa's fleet of 200-spec aircraft was gradually reduced. Today the Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 fleet totals some twenty-nine aircraft, although the airline still has five 747-200F aircraft (the freight-carrying version of the 747-200).

By September 2001 Lufthansa disposed of its eight remaining 747-200s; five were put into storage, two scrapped and the remaining aircraft - D-ABYM - was donated to the Auto & Technik Museum at Speyer. She completed her last flight in January 2001 before retirement to Speyer.