Lufthansa has decided to reactivate its fleet of eight remaining Airbus A380s due to a significant increase in passenger demand. The reintegration of the superjumbos will allow the airline to increase capacity on key routes in its network.
A spokesperson for the airline told the German media AeroTelegraph that the A380 is a very popular aircraft among both customers and crews. The eight superjumbos will be based at their Munich hub, and all are expected to return between 2024 and 2025.
Currently, Lufthansa has two active Airbus A380s registered as D-AIML and D-AIMM operating routes to New York and Boston from Munich. The D-AIMK is parked at Frankfurt airport, and the D-AIMN was transferred to Lufthansa Technik facilities in Manila, Philippines for maintenance.
By the end of 2023, the company expects to have four active A380s, and in 2024 will reactivate the aircraft D-AIMC and D-AIMH as reported by the europeanairlinefleets page. Also, the D-AIMA and D-IAMB will return to service between 2024 and 2025.
The reintroduction of the superjumbos to the fleet is essential to meet the current demand for travelers due to a shortage of planes. The airline has also suffered delays in the incorporation of new aircraft like the Boeing 777X and Boeing 787 that have affected its schedule. During a financial results presentation in March 2023, Lufthansa confirmed that six Airbus A380s would be active in the fleet by 2024. On the other hand, six A388s were sold to Airbus for a total book value of 287 million euros (321.2 million dollars).
«To expand its capacity and in view of the delays in the delivery of new long-haul aircraft combined with high demand, Lufthansa German Airlines is reactivating its A380 fleet«, the airline said at the time.
Before the pandemic crisis, Lufthansa operated 14 Airbus A380s that flew its main routes in the United States and Asia-Pacific. After a sharp drop in international travel demand due to the health crisis, they grounded all of them, transferring them to Teruel and Tarbes-Lourdes for long-term storage.
In addition to New York and Boston, Lufthansa plans to operate the A380s to Los Angeles and Bangkok this coming winter.
See also: Lufthansa Group achieved record results in the second quarter of 2023
