With high demand, Lufthansa plans to return the Airbus A380 in 2023

The A380 superjumbo is beloved among aviation fans thanks to its spacious interior, powerful size and quiet flying experience, but its days are numbered since Airbus announced in 2019 that it was ending production of the plane.

With high operating costs, the demise of the world’s largest passenger aircraft was apparently accelerated by the drop in travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But German airline Lufthansa – which was selling its A380s in a possible sign of the aircraft’s retirement from its fleet – has announced plans to reinstate the massive plane from summer 2023.

In a statement released on Monday (27), Lufthansa said the aircraft’s return was related to “the strong increase in customer demand and the delay in the delivery of ordered aircraft”, noting that the A380 remains popular with its crew and passengers.

return of the superjumbo

Lufthansa has sold six of its A380s in the last two years, but it still has eight superjumbos in its fleet. These aircraft are currently in storage in Spain and France.

The German company says it is still evaluating how many A380s will be reactivated and analyzing which routes they can fly.

Airlines typically use superjumbos on popular long-haul routes. The size of the aircraft makes them expensive to operate, so high demand is needed to justify their use.

While in recent years the A380 appeared to be on its way out, Lufthansa’s decision suggests that the aircraft has not yet been reserved for the history books. Superjumbos also remain in the fleets of Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, All Nippon Airways and British Airways.

Following the delivery of the final A380 in December 2021, Emirates President Tim Clark said it will “continue to be Emirates’ flagship product for years to come”.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines acknowledged the appeal to superjumbo passengers when it announced plans to reinstate the aircraft last year. “Some people buy tickets on A380 flights specifically to fly on the A380,” Siva Govindoamy, Singapore Airlines’ global head of public affairs, told CNN .

Earlier this year, an Airbus A380 also completed a test flight powered by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and operating on a single Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine.