Despite returning up to six Airbus A380 aircraft by 2024, Lufthansa does not have long-term intentions to add the double-decker to its fleet.
The Airbus A350-1000 and -900, the A330-300, the Boeing 747-8, 777-300, 777X-9, and 787-9, as well as the 777F to conduct cargo-only flights, will all be part of the airline’s “New Normal” fleet going forward.
Airbus A380, A340-600, A340-300, and A330-200 models will be retired, along with Boeing 747-400, 777-200, and 767-300 models.
“An improved product for an airline consists first and foremost of advanced aircraft and modern cabin interior,” noted Carsten Spohr, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Lufthansa Group, during the company’s 2022 earnings call. “That is why we are systematically continuing the modernization of our aircraft fleet,” Spohr continued, stating that in 2023, the airline group will add 35 jets to its various airlines.
The company bought 22 more long-haul aircraft, including 10 Airbus A350-1000s, five A350-900s, and seven Boeing 787-9s, to replace its fleet of aged widebody aircraft.
The German airline firm has ordered 87 widebody aircraft in all, with 44 more possibilities (20 for the 787, 24 for the 777X). The first 777X delivery is expected to start in 2025, with the delivery of the other jets to follow in 2023.
By 2030, the carrier group will add 200 new aircraft to its fleet with “more than half of them, long-range airplanes,” Spohr highlighted.
“The Group expects significant cost savings from these measures, especially in the areas of crew training, maintenance, and operations,” the company noted in its 2022 full-year report.
In addition, Lufthansa unveiled 14 new Allegris cabin interior products for its long flights.
In total, six Airbus A380s will rejoin Lufthansa’s fleet in the upcoming several years. Out of the 14 A380s the German airline possessed before the COVID-19 outbreak started, six Super Jumbos will be returned to Airbus by November 2023, according to the carrier’s financial report.
Ten of the type of aircraft were retired by the end of 2022.
However, starting in December 2022, Lufthansa has begun putting back A380s into service.
The airline with its base at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) will fly four of the type from Munich Airport by the peak travel period in 2023. (MUC). In 2024, two more Airbus A380s will start operating again.
A profit of €791 million ($839.4 million) was reported by the German airline company, which includes but is not limited to Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss International Air Lines, on revenues of €33 billion ($35 billion). It handled 102 million people in all during the course of the year.
