As global aviation continues to reel from the coronavirus, another giant has reacted. Lufthansa, which has already grounded most of its flights, will close its low-cost subsidiary, Germanwings, and retire some 43 aircraft, or about 6 percent of its total fleet. Those aircraft include 18 large airliners—including six Airbus A380s, seven A340s and five Boeing 747-400s—and 11 Airbus A320s will be retired. “The six A380s were already scheduled for sale to Airbus in 2022. The decision to phase out seven A340-600s and five Boeing 747-400s was taken based on the environmental as well as economic disadvantages of these aircraft types. With this decision, Lufthansa will be reducing capacity at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich,” said the company.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/lufthansa-to-close-germanwings-retire-43-aircraft