I suspect fans of Lufthansa’s A380s will be somewhat saddened by the news that it will not return its A380s to service.
As we had reported previously Lufthansa had kept the decision open when its superjumbo fleet was grounded at the start of the pandemic.
Lufthansa’s remaining A380s not expected to operate for two more years
But they were expected to return to service in the coming years.
However at today’s media briefing regarding the group’s 2020 financial results, it was also revealed by two reputable aviation writers that Lufthansa’s remaining A380s would not now return to service.
Reporting for France’s Les Echoes, Bruno Trevidic quoted Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr as saying “In the current situation, we do not see any prospect of the A380 in our fleet.”
Les 14 A380 de Luthansa stockés depuis des mois revoleront-il un jour ? "Dans la situation actuelle, nous ne voyons pas de perspective pour l'A380 dans notre flotte", répond le PDG de Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr. pic.twitter.com/Ho8XJeK7qz
— Bruno Trévidic (@BrunoTrevidic) March 4, 2021
While Germany’s Andreas Spaeth simply said, “This is the end of the A380 Lufthansa announced today.”
This is the end of the #A380 @lufthansa announced today #avgeek pic.twitter.com/wbo8nSbbQf
— Andreas Spaeth (@SpaethFlies) March 4, 2021
Of Europe’s other two A380 operators we reported last year that Air France had retired its A380s, so that leaves just British Airways.
The thinking at BA must be optimistic. I say that because BA has been taking its A380s out of storage and bringing them to London Heathrow for regular checks and maintenance.
Would BA spent money in this way were it to consider retiring its superjumbo fleet?
In other news Netherlands’s Luchvaartnieuws reports that Lufthansa will now launch its next generation business class in 2022 on either the B787 or A350.
The product was supposed to debut on the B777-9 but delivery delays have upset that plan.
