With airline traffic starting to revive in many parts of the world, airlines are starting to shift their fleets around to match demand.
In the case of the A380, largely left for dead in most pandemic projections, there are signs of a somewhat longer life. Emirates, the principal operator, will be upgauging some flights to the U.S. from its fleet of 777s back to A380 in June and other routes may follow depending on demand. Qantas, which appeared to have said farewell to the plane, now says they will likely be back, but not before 2024, absent a big shift in traffic.
In the U.S., the story isn’t jumbos like the A380 or 747, neither of which were ever significant in domestic flying, but what is happening is that a number of airlines, including American and Delta are shifting domestic flights to larger planes to handle the volume without increasing flights. Since the planes, including 777s and A350s, are not busy on international routes, it seems a logical choice.
Meanwhile, another airline is having, literally, a jumbo problem. Lufthansa, which still has its latest-model-if-a-few-years-old 747-8s in its active fleet is having some problems with its 747-400s, which are not expected to return to service. Three of them were stored at Twente airport in the Netherlands, but must now be moved because the airport says 747s are too heavy and damage the field. Lufthansa has moved one to Spain, and is looking for homes for the others before permission to take off expires in June. Room in your garage, anyone?
