News

Lufthansa to retire new B747-8s earlier than planned

4 Jun 2013 by Alex McWhirter

With the exception of the A380 superjumbo, rising fuel costs have made four-engined planes redundant.

According to industry publication Aviation Week, Lufthansa intends to dispose of its brand new fleet of B747-8s in the 2020s, well before they were originally scheduled for retirement.

Normally, a B747 would remain in service with a major carrier for between 20 and 30 years, yet Lufthansa's fleet of B747-8s (it has 19 of these craft on order) are still being delivered factory-fresh from Boeing.

Speaking at IATA's AGM in Cape Town, Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz indicated that his airline would be ordering twin-engined, but more fuel-efficient, wide-bodied planes like the A350 and latest versions of the B777 to replace the existing four-engined A340s and B747s in its current fleet.

The news will come as a disappointment to the many readers of our online forum who are fans of the B747 on account of its seating layout and its graceful appearance.

This move by Lufthansa is likely to herald the end of B747 production at Boeing.

For more information visit, lufthansa.com.

Report by Alex McWhirter

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