Lufthansa has announced plans to reactive part of its grounded Airbus A340-600 fleet next year.
Five A340-600 jets that are currently in long-term storage will temporarily be reintroduced in mid-2022, the airline said on Friday. All five aircraft will be based at Munich Airport. The announcement comes as a surprise, as the company previously planned to retire the already grounded type.
Before the Coronavirus crisis, Lufthansa operated a total of 17 Airbus A340-600. The first seven aircraft were withdrawn from its fleet following an announcement in April 2020. In September, the airline group confirmed that it intends to decommission all remaining A340-600 – only twelve of which are now in the process of being sold. It also grounded its eight remaining Airbus A380.
Lufthansa says the longest version of the A340 is being re-introduced at its Munich hub, because the type offers a first class cabin, unlike the A350-900, which is primarily based in Munich, instead of Frankfurt. However, the airline confirmed that it will also introduce a first class on the Airbus A350 starting in late-summer 2023. Lufthansa currently has 17 A350-900 in its fleet, with 28 more to be delivered. The group will also receive 25 Boeing 787-9, with the first one arriving this year, and 20 Boeing 777-9.
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
