Lufthansa Expects 10 Boeing 787s to Retire Its Remaining A340-600s

The end of the A340-600 era at Lufthansa could begin after Christmas, according to the German airline’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, in a press conference on Thursday.

According to him, everything depends on Boeing fulfilling its promise to deliver 10 new 787-9 Dreamliners starting in September. With the new, more efficient widebodies, it will be possible to phase out the four-engine aircraft starting at the end of the year.

Currently, there are six A340-600s in service, aircraft that were part of a larger fleet of 17 jets that had been retired in 2020.

But delays in the production of new commercial aircraft forced Lufthansa to return them to service due to growing demand. They currently fly from Frankfurt to destinations such as Boston, Hong Kong, and Riyadh.

With four classes of service, the A340-600 can carry up to 281 passengers, but it is an expensive aircraft to operate. Although it has a good range of 12,900 km, it has a maximum takeoff weight of 368 tons.

By comparison, the Boeing 787-9 can carry 294 passengers on longer flights of over 14,000 km and weighs only 253 tons loaded.

However, Lufthansa depends on Boeing to be able to keep up with production of the widebody. Currently, there are only five 787 Dreamliners in its fleet, all of which were received in 2023.

The carrier is still awaiting FAA certification of its new business class seats. If this process drags on, we may see the long A340-600s (75 meters long) flying for a while longer.

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Ricardo Meier

Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.

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