Lufthansa Group
Lufthansa decides to permanently phased out six Airbus A380s. Credit: Lufthansa Group.

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Global aviation company Lufthansa Group has decided to permanently reduce its fleet size as the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic severely impacts air travel.

As part of this move, the carrier has permanently phased out six Airbus A380s, seven A340-600s and 11 Airbus A320s, as well as five Boeing 747-400s.

The decommissioning of A340-600s and 747-400s was based on the environmental and economic drawbacks while the A380s were initially planned for sale to Airbus in 2022.

The carrier has also removed 11 Airbus A320s from short-haul operations.

This will see Lufthansa decrease capacity at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

In addition to the permanent reduction, Lufthansa Cityline will retire three Airbus A340-300 aircraft from service. Lufthansa’s regional carrier operates flights to long-haul tourist destinations.

Moreover, Eurowings has planned to phase out ten additional Airbus A320s from short-haul operations and reduce its long-haul business.

The group has decided to discontinue Germanwings flight operations.

In a statement, the company said: “All options resulting from this are to be discussed with the respective unions.”

Meanwhile, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines will reduce their fleet size.

SWISS International Air Lines will defer deliveries of new short-haul aircraft and contemplate early phase-outs of older aircraft.

Furthermore, the group’s airlines have ended almost all wet-lease agreements with other airlines.

The group expects to offer continued employment to most of the employees affected by these actions.

Last month, Lufthansa grounded around 700 aircraft of its 763-unit fleet and reduced its passenger capacity by 95% and working hours.