The Lufthansa Group has developed a restructuring plan to prepare for a long-term dip in demand and decrease its fleet size.
The plan includes permanently decommissioning six Airbus A380 aircraft and seven Boeing 747-400 aircraft as well as pulling 11 Airbus A320 aircraft from short-haul operations. The A380 aircraft already had been set for sale to Airbus in 2022, and removing the other aircraft was "based on the environmental as well as economic disadvantages" of the aircraft type, according to the group. The removal will require Lufthansa to cut capacity at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
The group also is pulling three Airbus A340-300 aircraft from its regional carrier Lufthansa Cityline, which operates long-haul flights to tourist destinations. Eurowings is phasing out 10 Airbus A320 aircraft for short-haul service and will be reducing its long-haul network as well.
Both Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines will reduce their fleets as the group intensifies restructuring programs in place with the carriers. Swiss International Airlines is delaying delivery of new short-haul aircraft and is speeding up retirement of older aircraft to reduce its fleet size.
The group said the restructuring plan is based on an assessment that "it will take months until the global travel restrictions are completely lifted and years until the worldwide demand for air travel returns to pre-crisis levels."