The airline confirmed this week that Lufthansa will put its double-decker Airbus A380 fleet back into service in the summer of 2023, adding massive capacity to high-demand routes beyond Munich (MUC). .
With travel demand continuing to soar and aircraft manufacturers struggling to build enough new planes to meet the demands of airlines, Lufthansa plans to reactivate its fleet of land-based super-carriers in time for the busy summer travel season.
Three A380s will operate flights from Munich starting June 2023, with additional A380s re-entering service thereafter. Lufthansa currently owns eight A380s, which have been on the ground since travel demand fell to record lows at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline also sold six during the landing.
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While the airline had previously said it planned to resume A380 flights without providing specific details, Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr provided additional details on the earnings call with executives. investors on Thursday.
“Wait for three in Munich, and you should book it now because our passengers love it, if you want to fly it,” says Spohr. “It’s just the beginning.”
He added: “We will need to raise that number, from the need we see and also for operational reasons, three is not enough. “We are currently working on a detailed plan for that.”
Last June, Lufthansa announced plans to bring its A380 fleet back online after more than two years, citing “strong customer demand and delayed deliveries of ordered aircraft”. statement.
Lufthansa’s A380s can accommodate 509 passengers across four cabins. Have eight first class seats78 business class seats, 52 premium economy reclining seats and 371 economy class seats.
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It remains unclear to which destinations the A380 will serve.
This is not the first time during the pandemic recovery that Lufthansa has turned to older aircraft to meet unscheduled demand. In March, the airline reactivated six Airbus A340-600s from memory, adding them to some US routes out of Munich.
The airline also operates smaller A340-300 aircraft they plan to replace in the coming years. Unlike the -600, the -300 does not have a first class cabin.
During the earnings call, Spohr noted that those A340-300s will likely be phased out soon and replaced with Boeing 787s. Deliveries of the 787s were recently resumed after a pause due to production problems.
“The 787 is intended to replace our 340-300s, as that is more or less capacity and both planes operate without a first class cabin,” he said. “We have 32 on order out of a total of 787 coming soon, so this will be just the beginning.”
