Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa has decided to extend the operational life of its four-engine Airbus A340-600 aircraft until early 2026, reversing previous plans to retire the type this summer. The decision comes amid ongoing production delays on Boeing’s side. While Lufthansa hopes to receive 8 to 10 aircraft from the 787 Dreamliner family by the end of the year, the A340-600s will remain in service as a contingency measure in case of further delays. The news was reported by German aviation portal http://aero.de.
Lufthansa initially aimed to retire the A340-600 fleet shortly after the pandemic. However, ongoing delivery setbacks for new aircraft have repeatedly delayed that timeline. A similar situation has affected the airline’s Airbus A380 fleet, with several of those superjumbos also remaining active due to delivery gaps.
Lufthansa’s A340-600 fleet has significantly shrunk in recent years. Back in 2016, the airline operated 24 of these aircraft, each flying an average of 800–900 flights annually. Today, only 7 A340-600s remain in service, operating around 200 flights per year.
Globally, just 18 A340-600s remain active. Of these, 2 have been converted into private jets, 3 are used for cargo operations, and 6 continue to operate passenger flights.
