Lufthansa Retiring A340's And 747-400's By 2028
Intro
A certain sadness fills the air in the realm of aviation, and Lufthansa has announced it will retire its iconic A340s and 747-400s by the end of 2028. Obviously, Lufthansa can't be fully taken at their word after what happened with Allegris, but this makes sense based on the timeline of the 777-9's.
A Huge Letdown
Lufthansa currently has eight 747-400s that fly to areas in the US, Africa, and Asia. Along with that, Lufthansa operates 17 A340-300s and 10 A340-600s.
The dilemma is much the same at Lufthansa as the dilemma of airlines in the USA. The money was up, but the profit margins were down. The A340s are certainly expensive to operate, and with the costs of petrol being expensive, this certainly makes sense. Perhaps that's why Conviasa gets away with flying empty A340's around the world.
In regards to the 747-400, it is a shame that it is going. However, the 747-800s don't have any plans for retirement, so there is still some light there. Especially when you are flying up in 1A on Lufthansa First Class!
Let's see what happens with this timeline. Perhaps Lufthansa might move this forward, and they might move it back. An interesting aspect I found when talking with the FO about my LH F experience was that pilots are trained on the A330 and A340, so my guess is that those captains will move to the A340.
Final Thoughts
Lufthansa is set to retire their 747-400s and their A340 fleet by 2028. While the timeline is subject to change, this seems like a move that makes sense due to the gas-guzzling four-engine aircraft. All 3 of the variants will be missed, and the largest operator of the 340s will be no more. Guess I really do now have to go to Venezeula🙃.
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