Airbus Updates No.4334

 

Lufthansa to exit Airbus A330 and A340 operations by 2028

Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) has announced that as a part of its new turnaround programme it will retire all remaining A330-200s, A340-300s, A340-600s, and B747-400s by 2028 to reduce the costly complexity of its widebody fleet.

The ch-aviation fleets module shows the airline currently operates seventeen A340-300s, seventeen A340-600s, and eight B747-400s. It owns all of these aircraft. It also operates nine A330-300s, and while it no longer operates any A330-200s, having retired all five as of 2006, its leisure-focused Discover Airlines (4Y, Frankfurt International) subsidiary operates three.

Lufthansa did not respond to ch-aviation's request for confirmation that the announced plan pertains to the Discover-operated A330-200s.

Lufthansa's quadjet fleet also comprises eight A380-800s (of which five are currently active) and nineteen B747-8s.

Lufthansa Group conceded in its quarterly earnings release that it was becoming "increasingly challenging" for its mainline to hope to break even in 2024. The holding posted a EUR212 million euro (USD229 million) operating loss for the first half of 2024, while Lufthansa itself recorded a EUR442 million (USD478 million) operating loss.

The holding blamed late aircraft deliveries as one of the causes of its current headaches. On a group level, it took 41 fewer B787-9s and B777-9s between 2019 and now than it had planned. It compensated for the delays by extending the service lives of twenty-three A340-300s and B747-400s. This only partially offset the delays, with 18 aircraft still missing, while at the same time there were rising fuel and operating costs. The changes also increase "irregularity costs" and lower crew productivity. As a result, Lufthansa Group estimates the cost of delayed widebody deliveries to be in triple-digit millions of euros.

Lufthansa has twenty-one B777-9s, seven B777-8Fs, and thirty-four B787-9s remaining on orders from Boeing.

The holding identified a host of other issues affecting its mainline carrier, such as "negative market development in the key Asia-Pacific traffic region, inefficiencies in its Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine flight operations", and "the disproportionately high increase in location cost in Germany and new collective labour agreements".

The newly launched turnaround programme, which aims to make Lufthansa "fit for the future" and "the Group's flagship again", will also tighten the focus on its premium product, more seasonal network, an increase in Lufthansa City Airlines and Discover operations, and other improvements. Lufthansa Group noted that its other carriers "remain on course in line with market developments". Nonetheless, Swiss was the only one to post an operating profit in the first half of the year. Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings all posted small operating losses not exceeding EUR100 million (USD108 million).

Airbus Updates No.3814

 

Conviasa welcomes 1st A340-600

Conviasa from Venezuela has taken delivery of its first A340-600. The aircraft, YV3533 (376), arrived at Caracas on 15 March and made its first commercial flight to Havana on 18 March. It was previously in use with Mahan Airlines as EP-MMF. According to the airline's press-release, it plans to deploy its new long-haul aircraft on flights from Venezuela to Portugal, Russia and Spain.

Next to its new A340-600, Conviasa's fleet also consists of one A319, one A340-200s, one A340-300, sixteen ERJ190s as well as Cessna 208s.

Airbus Updates No.3433

 

Lufthansa To Remove 5 Airbus A340-600s From Desert Storage

Lufthansa is set to begin reactivating its Airbus A340-600 fleet. Next summer, the airline will remove at least five of its grounded aircraft from storage to allow it to up its first class offering from the airline’s Munich hub.

Lufthansa is set to remove five Airbus A340-600 aircraft from desert storage. Photo: Getty Images

Around a year ago, Lufthansa flew its entire fleet of Airbus A340-600 aircraft to Teruel, a Spanish aircraft storage facility also housing most of the airline’s Airbus A380 aircraft. While many had assumed that the fate of the four-engine single-deck jets had been sealed, Lufthansa has now revealed that this is not the case.

At least five aircraft will be back

According to Lufthansa, it will reactivate at least five Airbus A340-600 aircraft to allow it to offer first class on more routes from its Munich hub. Currently, the airline only offers a first class cabin on the Airbus A340-600, Airbus A380, and Boeing 747. It seems the slightly smaller A340-600 was preferable to the Airbus A380 in this case. The A340-600 was a hit with customers, known for its toilet section in the cargo hold.

According to Lufthansa, these five aircraft will return to service in Summer 2022, meaning we still have quite a wait until we see them gracing the skies again. The airline intends to operate the jets on flights to North America and Asia. But, of course, much can change in a year, and we could still see this decision moved forward, back, or canceled altogether.

The aircraft is known for its cabin featuring toilets in the cargo hold. Photo: Vincenzo Pace – Simple Flying

The move comes as a surprise given how damning Lufthansa had been on the type’s future. The airline has always maintained that the aircraft it has not permanently retired, such as the A340 fleet, could be brought back into service if there was exceptional demand. In January, the Lufthansa Group CEO, Carsten Spohr, revealed,

“We took the A340-600 out and we don’t plan to bring them back into the air.”

Lufthansa sent 17 Airbus A340-600 aircraft to Teruel in Spain for long-term storage. The airline is currently in the process of selling 12 of these aircraft, which is why just five will return to service for the time being. These aircraft will be sold at a later date.

Lufthansa sent the entire A340-600 fleet to storage, alongside some of its A380s, last summer. Photo: Getty Images

To be replaced by the Airbus A350?

At the start of the month, a Lufthansa spokesperson revealed to Simple Flying that if the A340 did come back, it would be on a limited basis. The airline expects to receive its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft featuring a first class cabin in summer 2023.

These will be based in Munich and will seemingly replace the existing Airbus A340 fleet as they are delivered. If the airline wishes to increase its first class capacity in the meantime, the only option seems to be cabin refits of existing aircraft or the return of the Airbus A380.

Airbus Updates No.3422

 Lufthansa Puts 12 Airbus A340s Up For Sale

Lufthansa has officially put 12 of its Airbus A340-600s put for sale. The jets were sent for long-term storage by the flag carrier in May 2020 and have since been formally retired. Considering all these planes are only 12 to 18 years old, they certainly could find use with a new operator, if one is willing.

Lufthansa has said goodbye to most of its four-engines jets as the pandemic shrinks demand for years to come. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

For sale

According to Aerotelegraph, Lufthansa is putting up 12 of its former Airbus A340-600s for sale to prospective buyers. The airline operated a total of 17 of these four-engined jets before the pandemic broke, all of which are currently parked in long-term storage at Teurel, a Spanish aircraft graveyard. This January, Lufthansa confirmed that these birds would never fly for the airline again.

Over a year after being on the ground, Lufthansa has officially found the next step for these planes: a new owner. The carrier is selling 12 A340-600s, carrying registrations: D-AIHZ, D-AIHY, D-AIHX, D-AIHW, D-AIHL, D-AIHK, D-AIHH, D-AIHF, D-AIHE, D-AIHD, D-AIHC, and D-AIHB.

Despite their retirement, these A346s still have a lot of life in them. The youngest, D-AIHZ, open entered the fleet in May 2009, according to ch-aviation. Meanwhile, the oldest, D-AIHB, first arrived in November 2003.

With a mix of ages and uses, any new buyer could easily find years of use from these A340s. Moreover, the plane comes equipped with Lufthansa’s four-class, 252 seat layouts, including eight first class seats.

Notably, Lufthansa has opted not to sell aircraft ranging from 13 to 15 years old. It’s unclear why only the newest and oldest jets are going on sale. 

While the A340-600s go up for sale, other Lufthansa widebodies have been scrapped instead. This includes several Boeing 747-400s in recent months. With little to no resale chances, these jets simply had no future left. However, in a statement, a Lufthansa spokesperson said about the A346s,

If the sale is successful, it will help Lufthansa recover some amount of cash and offset huge impairment charges from the retirement. As the carrier continues to face record losses, any infusion of funds will be considered a victory. However, there is a reason these aircraft were retired in the first place: inefficiency.

Gas-guzzling jets like the A340-600 have little place in a time when airlines are looking to maximize efficiency and reduce operating costs. In the best case, these planes will be picked up by private buyers or wet lease companies for future use. At the right price, operating these aircraft might just make some amount of fiscal sense.

Airbus Updates No.2804

European Aviation Airbus A340-600 G-VFIT seen at Bournemouth 21st August 2020 wearing the new colours of European Cargo....... nice to see what with the rash of A340 retirements