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(CNN) — The A380 superjumbo is loved by aviation fans for its spacious interior, mighty dimensions and quiet onboard experience, but days are numbered since Airbus announced in 2019 that it was halting production of the aircraft.
The demise of the world’s largest passenger jet, which is costly to operate, was apparently accelerated by the travel decline of the Covid-19 pandemic, but now the German airline Lufthansa – which had grounded its A380s and reportedly left the plane from its fleet – has announced plans to redeploy the massive aircraft from the summer of 2023.
Return of the super jumbo
Lufthansa’s A380s are currently in “deep storage”. Here is a May 2020 photo of Lufthansa A380s parked in a storage facility at Teruel Airport.
David Ramos/Getty Images
Lufthansa has sold six of its A380s in recent years and the airline has eight more superjumbos in its fleet. These aircraft are currently in “deep storage” in Spain and France.
The German airline says it is still assessing how many A380s will be reactivated and figuring out which routes they can fly on.
Typically, airlines deploy superjumbos on popular long-haul routes. The size of the aircraft makes them expensive to use, so there must be demand to justify this.
While the A380 appeared to be on the decline in recent years, Lufthansa’s decision suggests the A380 has not yet made it into the history books. Superjumbos will also remain in the fleets of Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, All Nippon Airways and British Airways.
Top photo: A parked Lufthansa A380 photographed in March 2020 by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images
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