LH to phase out all A380 and B747-400
Lufthansa is planning to retire all of their Airbus A380s, the bulk of their smaller A340s and all of their older Boeing 747-400s. The move would be one of the largest fleet shake-ups of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The unexpected claims stem from a number of unnamed internal sources, who, according to Bloomberg, also believe that there will be a cull of narrow-body planes that feed longer routes.
Although Lufthansa has already confirmed that they will axe 100 aircraft from their fleet, these new fleet cuts would far surpass that number. In turn, the sources have disclosed that Lufthansa will also lay-off many more staff than the 22,000 initially announced. Lufthansa may keep a handful of younger A340-600s, thus preserving capacity for busier routes, according to the Bloomberg sources. At this stage, no indication has been given that the airline will retire their newer Boeing 747-8i aircraft.
Based on their latest official announcement, Lufthansa is currently aiming to mothball about 300 aircraft in 2021 and 200 in 2022. Eventually, the group fleet, which currently stands at 760, will need to be about 100 aircraft smaller by 2023.
Lufthansa reported a $1.78 billion loss from January to June, marking some of the most abysmal results the airline has seen. The German Government has taken a 20% stake, injecting €9 billion ($11 billion) in survival lifelines. Lufthansa declined our request for comment.
