Lufthansa sees post-crisis ‘flagship’ role for 747-8

Lufthansa intends to keep its Boeing 747-8s in service while grounding all its Airbus A380s amid a stepped-up fleet-reduction effort and a wider industry trend toward smaller long-haul twinjets. On 21 September, the carrier disclosed its decision to retire 150 aircraft by the middle of the decade – 50 more than previously announced. Eight parked A380s have been “removed from planning” and will only be reactivated in the event of an “unexpectedly rapid market recovery”. Lufthansa had previously put all its 14 A380s fleet in storage in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and accelerated a retirement plan by withdrawing six of them with immediate effect. Lufthansa Group CE Carsten Spohr said last week the airline had also accelerated the phasing-out of 14 ageing 747-400s, moving the timeframe forward to 2025 from the end of the decade. But he says the 747-8s will remain in service to serve as “our flagship… after the crisis”. He says “we love to operate” the 747-8 and describes the four-engined jet as “the most efficient aircraft” in Lufthansa’s fleet. Cirium fleets data shows that Lufthansa has 19 747-8s, 11 of which are listed as being in storage. Spohr says the aircraft are “more or less brand-new” and cites belly-freight capacity that is “a lot” higher than the A380’s as a reason to keep the 747-8 in service.<br/>