As the likelihood of the Airbus A380 returning to the active Lufthansa fleet diminishes, the German airline is already calling the Boeing 747-8 its new flagship aircraft.
Lufthansa CEO Calls 747-8 The New Flagship Aircraft
First the bad news, then the good news. The bad news is that it is looking increasingly unlikely that Lufthansa will ever bring back the A380 into active service. While eight of 14 aircraft remain stored and on standby for re-activation, Lufthansa has announced that they have been “removed from planning” and will only be re-activated should an “unexpectedly rapid market recovery” occur.
Sadly, Lufthansa expects to retire 150 aircraft over the next five years, 1/3 more than previously announced according to FlightGlobal. That will include Lufthansa’s fleet of 14 747-400s. Those aircraft were supposed to stick around for another decade but now will be retired by 2025.
But now for some good news. Speaking (virtually) at the World Aviation Festival, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said Lufthansa has no plans to retire any of its 19 747-8 aircraft. In fact, he said the 747-8 will serve as “our flagship… after the crisis”.
Spohr also called the 747-8 the “most efficient aircraft” in the Lufthansa fleet. While that may sound odd considering the 747-8 has four engines, the aircraft has more cargo capacity than even the A380. As business as morphed during the pandemic, cargo space has become relatively more valuable.
The future of the Lufthansa longhaul fleet remains uncertain. Lufthansa currently has the following widebodies on order:
- 20 Boeing 777-9s
- 20 Boeing 787-9s
- 27 Airbus A350s
As we’ve discussed before on Live and Let’s Fly, first class is planned for the 777-9s, but only on later deliveries. No design has been revealed and the pandemic has already prompted a delivery delay in this aircraft.
CONCLUSION
As much as I would love to see the A380 remain active and the flagship of the Lufthansa fleet, I am at least happy that Lufthansa plans to stick with the 747-8 for at least another decade. The beautiful aircraft is a very fitting flagship indeed.
> Read More: The Future Of First Class On Lufthansa
> Read More: Lufthansa Affirms Commitment To First Class, Hints At Private Suite
747 great. Plane, was on flight test program in 1969
Got to fly on the 2nd one down to NM for landing gear and brake testing.
3 fully loaded landings complete stop and go again ,no thrust reverses allowed and no flareing when landing. Just fly it into ground at 10 feet per second vertical dissent.
Wings look like they flap when do this. Impressive
This is FANTASTIC news. The 747-8 is a beautiful plane and riding in the upstairs business class cabin feels like being in a private jet. While I do lament the premature retirement of the A380, I’m so happy that LH remains committed to the Queen. And I’m even more excited that ORD is likely to remain on the schedule as a major hub to hub route to FRA. I’m looking forward to my own flight on LH431 in late November!
They better have to refurbish them all cause the business class is totally outdated and cramped….
Glad to hear this. My Dad and I loved our flight on it in F.
Nowadays the 747 aircraft is out of favor with air carriers. Lufthansa, clever as always, is charting its own way. What a beautiful sight to see the 747 aircraft on the taxiways of Frankfurt for years to come.
“My eyes are filled with tears of Joy” Love you Luftansa for upholding the Queen of Skies as Flagship. No wonder why all Presidential and National carriers are 747! What else could be “Air Force One”?! Bon voyage.. I wish Boeing would never stop its production while orders keep rising every year from Luft, Korean, JAL..
I have flown many times on the Lufthansa 7478i and it is such a beautiful plane. This made my week to hear this news and I cannot wait to fly on one again. Thanks to Lufthansa!!!
Great news for me because I live in Chicago (ORD) and we have a daily, Chicago to Frankfort using the 747-8i. It is the first plane you see when pulling into ORD because the tail is so huge, and buy them being in Star Alliance they are in terminal 1 with United Airlines. ORD is United Airlines home base.
A few small corrections; First Class isn’t actually planned on any of the B777 deliveries. LH was considering it, but right now all of that is under review.
Furthermore F was actually internally planned for the 2023 A350 deliveries, but again, now under review as LH waits to analyze how the demographic develops after the pandemic: (More C? Less C? More Y? etc.). This might even result in some current seat maps being changed.
Don’t misunderstand me, LH is very dedicated to their F product, and they will retain it on routes that fill it at approx. 30-40% of their long haul network. People tend to forget that airplanes can be reconfigured quickly enough if need be (See the A346s for example) and that the current pandemic has shock the industry quite well. There is no real plan regarding F at the moment, things are being made up as they go. A340s and A380s weren’t parked to eliminate F, but because they couldn’t be used profitably. F will come back after the pandemic, my guess would be on some of the A350s. We might even see F come back on a few A330s although I doubt that.
When did that change? I know the initial 777s were not going to have to First Class, but I thought the plan was still to debut them on the final 1/3 of deliveries.
Well afaik this was just a suggestion being worked on, it changed earlier this year (I think, not sure anymore) when pretty much all the fleet planning was thrown over board due to the global pandemic.
No fix fleet plans exist atm, things are being made up as we go. We’ll have to wait and see how things develop.
I’ll take the good news. It’s not plentiful these days.
A380 has terrible cargo capability ..everyone knows this but you write it like it is a surprise the 747-8 has better capacity.
Thanks Jim for speaking for everybody.
I assumed the A380 had more cargo capacity. Thanks for telling me Matt.
My pleasure. Thanks for reading Peter!
I was also surprised to hear the 747-8 to be called efficient. Never understood why more airlines didn’t order its. Maybe Cathay should have since they have a big cargo business.
In any case, the 747-8i is probably shutting down soon.
Glad that I got to fly on the A380 last year on Qantas. Now, I just need to take a 747 before they all go away. Unfortunately, I don’t think that I will ever get on an A340.
Swiss will still be flying A340s for a couple of years! 😉
Sweet, though too bad there are only 2 good airlines that I can consider to fly 748, as I’ve never been (I’ve had a few rides on 744)
A380: a European vanity project designed by committee with an extraordinarily fragmented and inefficient supply chain to give handouts to various member states.
As much as I love flying on it, it is a plane that never made commercial sense.