Lufthansa is expected to further cut its long-range aircraft fleet. After announcing in April that it would take six of its 14 A380s out of service, in addition to five 747-400 and seven A340-600, the German carrier would now be on the verge of revealing the retirement of the entire Airbus double-decker fleet.
The information, revealed by Bloomberg, also involves the end of operations with the remaining 747-400 and the elimination of the smaller A340s, that is, the -300 version, of which 17 aircraft remain.
After the reduction, Lufthansa’s fleet would have 17 A340-600 and 19 747-8, the most modern ‘Jumbo’ variant, in addition to the new A350 (16 units) and 15 older A330-300.
If confirmed, the new reduction will cause the A380 to be used only by British Airways and the Portuguese Hi-Fly in Europe. Another major customer of the plane, Air France, already withdrew its service models months ago.
According to a source at the airline, fleet cuts are expected to exceed 100 units and even include ordered planes. The company is also expected to cut about 22,000 jobs to survive in the face of falling passenger demand.
The Lufthansa group recently received government aid of 9 billion euros. Consulted by Forbes, the company declined to comment.
