Lufthansa Brings Back the A380
Kevan James
June 29, 2022.
Lufthansa is reactivating the Airbus A380 in response to the steep rise in customer demand and the delayed delivery of ordered aircraft.
The airline expects to use the long-haul aircraft, which is popular with customers and crews, again from summer 2023. The company is currently assessing how many A380s will be reactivated and which destinations the Airbus will fly to.
Lufthansa still has 14 Airbus A380s, which are currently parked in Spain and France for long-term ‘deep storage’. Six of these aircraft have already been sold with the eight aircraft remaining still part of the Lufthansa fleet for the time being.
The Executive Board Members of Deutsche Lufthansa AG also announced the reactivation of the A380 in a joint letter to the company's customers:
“In the summer of 2023, we not only expect to have a much more reliable air transport system worldwide. We will be welcoming you back on board our Airbus A380s, too. We decided today to put the A380, which continues to enjoy great popularity, back into service at Lufthansa in summer 2023.
“In addition to this, we are further strengthening and modernizing our fleets with some 50 new Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777-9 long-haul aircraft and more than 60 new Airbus A320/321s in the next three years alone.”
The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger aircraft: it is 73 meters long and 24 meters high and in Lufthansa service can seat 509 passengers.
First Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 gets ready for delivery
Lufthansa's first Boeing 787-9, registered D-ABPA will be named 'Berlin' is to be delivered to the airline following certification by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) this summer.
The German carrier's Dreamliner aircraft will consume an average of around 2.5 litres of kerosene per passenger and 100 kilometres flown. That is around 25 percent less than their predecessor aircraft. The CO2 emissions are also improved accordingly.
The Boeing 787-9 will have an improved cabin product, including direct aisle access for all guests in Business Class. Following several weeks of planned cabin refurbishments at Lufthansa’s maintenance in Frankfurt, the aircraft will be deployed initially on domestic German routes for training purposes.
The first intercontinental scheduled destination will be Toronto.
In total, the Lufthansa Group has ordered 32 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with deliveries scheduled between this year and 2027.
Images courtesy of Lufthansa
