Lufthansa has just announced a series of capacity and fleet measures, in light of current circumstances. This is due to a combination of high oil prices and major labor issues at Lufthansa, which are leaving the carrier in a tough spot.
In a separate post, I’ve already covered how the airline group has shut down its Lufthansa CityLine subsidiary with no notice, which is a major move. That’s only one of the changes we’re seeing, though, as the company has also announced updates to its long haul fleet.
Lufthansa grounding A340s & 747s after summer
Lufthansa plans to reduce its long haul capacity by a total of six aircraft at the end of the summer flight schedule:
- The last four remaining Airbus A340-600s will be retired in October 2026, bringing a definitive end to the jet at the airline; the A340-600 has first class, and it’s a plane that was supposed to be retired in 2027 anyway, so that’s not so radical
- Two Boeing 747-400s will be grounded in October 2026, with the final farewell for the aircraft planned for 2027; the airline currently has eight of these in its fleet, and those are separate from the 747-8s that are sticking around for years to come
In light of the current reality, I’m a bit surprised the airline is waiting until after summer to ground these planes. I guess summer demand is too lucrative, and remains strong. Frankly I’d be surprised if the 747-400s ever fly again, after they’re grounded. They’re really going to just be grounded and not retired, and then brought back briefly, before permanently being retired in 2027? Hmmm…
Discover Airlines is getting more Airbus A350s
Here’s the other interesting news, which the airline group is being vague about. In terms of “medium-term fleet planning,” the company has announced that nine additional Airbus A350s will be allocated to Discover Airlines, which is Lufthansa’s low cost, long haul subsidiary.
Historically, Discover has primarily operated A330s, though recently it was announced that the airline will be getting four A350-900s in 2027. The idea is that the ex-Philippine Airlines A350s (with unique interiors) that Lufthansa is currently flying will be going to Discover, as Lufthansa takes delivery of more new long haul aircraft.
But now it has been announced that nine more A350s will go to Discover. It’s not clear if these are existing Lufthansa A350s or newly delivered ones that haven’t yet been allocated to the airline. I’d assume it’s the former, and that Discover gets used A350s with the carrier’s older cabins.
What’s going on here is pretty clear:
- Lufthansa Group wants to operate as many flights with the non-Lufthansa brand as possible, given that Lufthansa is Lufthansa Group’s lowest margin subsidiary
- So we can expect more long haul routes to be taken over by Discover, on behalf of Lufthansa
- This announcement is just really vague and doesn’t address any short term issues, so I feel like Lufthansa is partly announcing this just to send a message to employees who are on strike, about how their flying will increasingly be replaced by lower cost subsidiaries
Bottom line
Lufthansa is taking action in light of higher oil prices and labor issues. While the biggest news is the sudden shutdown of Lufthansa CityLine, there are also major updates to Lufthansa’s long haul operations. After the summer, the airline will retire its remaining A340-600s, and ground two 747-400s, only to then retire the entire 747-400 fleet in 2027.
The other big news is that Lufthansa’s low cost subsidiary is getting nine more A350-900s, though details beyond that remain limited. It’s hard to imagine this isn’t related to labor issues and sending a message to mainline employees about their reduced future flying prospects…
What do you make of Lufthansa’s long haul fleet updates?
