Lufthansa has placed an order for 40 new aircraft, with an even split between Boeing and Airbus. At the same time, the German carrier has announced it will sell six of its Airbus A380s.
Images reveal that the aircraft could be placed with Lufthansa, or other airlines in the group such as Austrian Airlines or Swiss. Where they will eventually land is not specified.
Lufthansa’s Order
The press release issued states the new aircraft are specifically to replace four-engine planes in their fleet. Lufthansa still operates the Airbus A340-300 and A340-600, which should be replaced by the new 787s and A350s.
Swiss is in the same boat, with five Airbus A340s in the fleet requiring replacement. Austrian Airlines, on the other hand, has six ex-Lauda Air Boeing 767-300ERs which are getting long in the tooth. Therefore, some of the new order may be earmarked for these also.
Since the first delivery to the German airline was in 2010, the oldest will be only 12 or 13 years old when sold. This is considered roughly half way through the life of an aircraft, so perhaps the plan is to sell them on second hand.
Overall Thoughts
The march towards an aviation industry full of twin-engine jets continues with the Lufthansa order. While we will see four-engine aircraft plying the skies for years to come, their days are essentially numbered at this point.
Fuel efficiency, keeping fares reasonable and making profits are the name of the game. What comes next is anyone’s guess but it’s sure going to be interesting to watch!
What do you think of the Lufthansa order and removal of the Airbus A380s? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!
All images via Lufthansa.
Makes me wonder why Airbus would want to buy these A380s back and what will they do with them?
I’m sure they don’t “want” to buy them back: it will be part of the total deal that LH negotiated when buying the A350s
Yes, I agree with you there – for sure it’s a trade in. It will be interesting to see what Airbus does with them though. Thanks for the comment!
Time will tell!