Parked giant jets in Teruel
Because of hail damage: Lufthansa has to replace parts of the outer skin of the Airbus A380
Two of several Lufthansa Airbus A380s stored in Teruel, Spain
© Javier Escriche / DPA
Even before the pandemic, Lufthansa had decided not to use the giant A380 jet. But now the demand for tickets is so great that the mothballed giants are being reactivated at great expense.
When reactivating its Airbus A380 wide-body jets, Lufthansa also has to replace parts of the outer skin of the aircraft. The reason is hail damage during the storage of the machines at the Spanish aircraft park in Teruel. The work should be done in Frankfurt, as a company spokesman said on Monday.
A few days ago, the company began the technical preparations to be able to put four to five of the parked machines back into operation in summer 2023. Even before the pandemic, Lufthansa had decided to withdraw the A380 from the fleet for economic reasons. The manufacturer Airbus is taking back six of the original 14 jets at an undisclosed price, so that Lufthansa could revive a maximum of eight super jumbos.
The company left open how many aircraft had their outer skin damaged. It also did not provide any information on the costs of reactivation. Thousands of hours of work are required for each aircraft.
From Teruel via Frankfurt and Manila to Munich A picture from February 2019 in Frankfurt: The nine-year-old A380 with the registration D-AIMK and the baptismal name “Düsseldorf” © Arnulf Hettrich / Imago Images
First of all, the nine-year-old A380 with the registration D-AIMK and the baptismal name “Düsseldorf” is to fly from Spain to Frankfurt at the beginning of December. It has been in Teruel since May 5, 2020. After the outer skin has been repaired and other basic work is done, Lufthansa Technik in Manila has a longer maintenance interval.
Lufthansa chose Munich Airport as the base of operations because there are more pilots with a license for the smaller A350 based there. The license can be extended to the A380 in a short time.
Lufthansa wants to reactivate the giant jets, each with 509 seats, because the US manufacturer Boeing has postponed the delivery of new long-haul aircraft. On the other hand, the demand for long-haul tickets has recently risen sharply – especially in the more expensive classes, for which a particularly large number of seats are offered in the A380.
A company spokesman said it would mean a “significant effort” to reintroduce the A380. “The bottom line is that it’s much faster than ordering new aircraft.”
Also read:
– Teruel: Why park billions in the Spanish province
– Why the Airbus A380 is being scrapped just 15 years after the first rollout
– Airbus A380: Why the world’s largest passenger jet is no longer up to date