Heritage in the air: What routes are Lufthansa’s quadjets operating in its centennial summer?
January 18, 2026
Lufthansa’s four-engine aircraft are slowly leaving the fleet. However, the decline has somewhat stabilised in recent years as delivery delays for some of its newer long-haul planes force the ageing jets to fill the capacity void.
Lufthansa’s once-flagship fleet of Airbus A380, A340 and Boeing 747 aircraft is nevertheless dwindling. It hopes to retire its older quadjet variants by 2028, according to information that the carrier has previously shared. Meanwhile, the more modern Boeing 747-8 planes based in Frankfurt will remain in the fleet well into the 2030s.
As Lufthansa celebrates its 100th anniversary, Aerospace Global News takes a look at where its quadjets will fly this summer using data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Overall, the aircraft remain on core routes, providing much-needed capacity at a time where Boeing 787, Boeing 777X and Airbus A350 delivery delays thwart fleet renewal plans.
Where is Lufthansa flying the Airbus A380?
| Airbus A380 fleet information highlights | |
|---|---|
| Number in the fleet | 8 |
| Total seats | 509 |
| Average age | 13.8 years |
| Oldest aircraft | D-AIMA (16.3 years) |
| Top destination this summer* | Los Angeles |
Lufthansa’s largest aircraft, the Airbus A380 has 509 seats. Each of its planes are configured in a three-class layout, with 371 seats in economy, 52 in premium economy, 78 in business and 8 in first class.
This summer, the superjumbo will operate out of the airline’s Munich hub to high-demand routes to the United States and India. Specifically, the carrier will operate its A380s on flights to:
- Los Angeles: daily
- Boston: daily
- Delhi: daily
- Denver: daily
- Washington D.C.: daily
- Los Angeles: daily
- San Francisco: 3x weekly
The Airbus A380s are useful for services to more congested airports and those that benefit from high-demand. Both Mumbai and Delhi are prime examples, with very limited space available.
Where is Lufthansa flying the Boeing 747?
| Boeing 747 fleet information highlights | |
|---|---|
| Number in the fleet | 26 |
| Total seats | 371 (747-400) or 364 (747-8) |
| Average age | 16.4 years |
| Oldest aircraft | D-ABVM (28 years) |
| Top destination this summer* | Buenos Aires |
Lufthansa operates two Boeing 747 variants: the -400 and the newer -8. Its fleet of 26-strong jets are made up primarily of the -8 variant, reflecting lower operating and maintenance costs on younger aircraft.
It has 8 Boeing 747-400s still in the fleet, though confirmed that it would be retiring a further two this year as it continues its renewal plan. The remaining 6 will be withdrawn by 2028, it says.
As it stands, the older variant will operate to the following destinations daily this summer from Frankfurt:
- Singapore
- Houston
- Vancouver
- Bangalore
- Toronto
- Boston
At the end of last year, the company also revealed that it would be selling two of its Boeing 747-8s to an unnamed buyer. It later emerged that the transaction involved the US Air Force. The first, D-ABYD, has already exited the fleet and is listed under the U.S. Air Force according to planespotters.net. The second, D-ABYG is still shown under Lufthansa.
The 17 -8s that remain in the fleet will operate from Frankfurt to the following cities on a daily basis this summer:
- Buenos Aires
- São Paulo
- Mexico City
- Tokyo Haneda
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Johannesburg
- Miami
- Chicago
- Newark
The destinations were selected on the basis of premium demand as well. Compared to the older jumbos, the -8s are configured with more premium seating, including 8 first class seats – a cabin which the -400 does not have. They also feature 80 business seats (versus 67).
Where is Lufthansa flying the Airbus A340?
| Airbus A340 fleet information highlights | |
|---|---|
| Number in the fleet | 18 |
| Total seats | 279 (A340-300) or 281 (A340-600) |
| Average age | 23.7 years |
| Oldest aircraft | D-AIGN (27.9 years) |
| Top destination this summer* | Washington D.C. |
The Airbus A340 is becoming an incredibly rare sight, especially in Europe. Lufthansa (and group subsidiaries SWISS and Edelweiss) are among the few remaining operators, alongside Hi Fly Malta and Legend Airlines. The German carrier is the world’s largest operator today, though the planes will soon be withdrawn in favour of the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9.
It operates two variants, namely the A340-300 of which it has 13 in service and the slightly larger A340-600 of which it has five. The latter features an incredibly dense premium configuration, with 56 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats and 8 in first class. Its smaller sister does not have first class and has a much smaller business cabin. Both are based in Frankfurt.
The A340-300 fleet will fly to the following destinations this summer.
- Boston: daily
- Washington D.C.: daily
- Tehran: daily
- Chicago: daily
- Chennai: 6x weekly
- Abuja: 4x weekly
- Almaty: 3x weekly
- Luanda: 3x weekly
- San Jose: 3x weekly
- Astana: 2x weekly
On the other hand, its five A340-600s will operate daily to:
- Washington D.C.
- New York-JFK
- Riyadh
When will Lufthansa retire its Boeing 747s, Airbus A380s and Airbus A340s?
Lufthansa is streamlining its fleet for the future, retiring older-generation planes that are less fuel efficient and operationally reliable given their age. The Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340s best exemplify this and are slated for withdrawal by 2028.
The A340-600 was meant to be the first to be retired, with schedules indicating an end to their regular service by January 2026. This has since been delayed, with current plans indicating an exit by the end of the 2026 summer season. The aircraft is not listed in Lufthansa schedules beyond October 2026.
Delivery delays with the carrier’s Boeing 777X, Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft have meant that older planes have had to be kept into service beyond expectations to ensure its operations. In 2025 the number of long-haul flights that Lufthansa operated shrunk by about 1% compared to the previous year, lagging behind competitors. For comparison, British Airways grew by about 1%, Air France by 2.3% and KLM by 5%.
Meanwhile, the carrier’s 747-8 planes are here to stay. According to a report by aero.de, the airline is retrofitting the newer jumbo jets with its brand-new Allegris intercontinental seat product as of January 2026. In a statement to the publication, the company confirmed it was retrofitting the plane “in several phases” with the main deck’s business, premium economy and economy products being renewed first.
It hopes to operate the planes well into the 2030s, and is reportedly considering additional routes for the type’s deployment. This includes an ultra-long haul service to Hawaii, though the airline declined to comment.
Featured image: Christian Palent | stock.adobe.com
