While Lufthansa had been expected to retain two Airbus A380 aircraft at Frankfurt, it today bid farewell to its penultimate jet, possibly for the last time. Six-year-old D-AIMM departed Frankfurt this morning, bound for long-term storage at Tarmac Aerosave’s Teruel facility.
The past year hasn’t been kind to the Airbus A380. While new aircraft are still valued at over $100 million, hardly anybody wants them, including many of the airlines that already own them. Just last week, Qatar Airways’ CEO told Simple Flying that ordering the giant had been the airline’s biggest mistake. Lufthansa also looks to be bidding the giant farewell.
Farewell D-AIMM
Over the past months, we’ve seen many Airbus A380s departing from Frankfurt. While most were from Emirates returning to Dubai with passengers, a handful were Lufthansa A380s taking what could be their final flight. Last month we bid farewell to D-AIML. At the time, this was expected to be the final departure according to Lufthansa’s January plan for the jets.
A Lufthansa spokesperson told Simple Flying that the reopening of Frankfurt Airport’s northwest runway, previously used to park 747-8s, meant that more parking space was needed elsewhere. As such, the plan was altered to see D-AIMM depart today. D-AIMH is expected to remain in Frankfurt until September.
This morning D-AIMM departed from Frankfurt International at 09:18 as LH9921. Like most of the other A380 departures to Teruel, it took off from the airport’s south-facing Runway 18.
Having departed Frankfurt, D-AIMM flew south through Germany, climbing to a height of 41,000 feet. After passing above Switzerland and France, the aircraft began descending through Spanish airspace. According to data from RadarBox.com, the…