A Lufthansa spokesperson has revealed to Simple Flying that the airline has tentatively planned to operate the Airbus A380 on up to three routes, all to the United States, upon its return this summer. The giant of the skies could fly to New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), or Los Angeles (LAX), though the tentative nature of these plans means they are subject to change.

What a difference a year makes. Last January, it looked uncertain if Lufthansa would ever fly the giant of the skies again. Fast forward to today, and one aircraft has already been removed from storage, with two more due to follow in the coming months.

What's new?

When asked by Simple Flying, a Lufthansa spokesperson revealed the airline's latest plans for the Airbus A380's return, giving us a little more color on what to expect, both operationally and with a return to service aspect. We'll start with the operations.

Lufthansa told Simple Flying that it is tentatively planning to place the Airbus A380 on up to three United States routes from Munich Airport,

"The aim is to have three A380s ready for operation based in Munich for early summer (June), with tentative destinations New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), or Los Angeles (LAX)."

Photo: Cirium

They added that they are not currently planning to alter the cabin of the aircraft from what is currently installed, meaning that passengers should expect the four-cabin layout from when the giant of the skies was grounded.

Training flights planned for May

Lufthansa's crew hasn't worked on the Airbus A380 since the type was grounded almost three years ago, meaning that the majority (if not all) will require full retraining on the giant. In order to accomplish this, British Airways operated the giant aircraft on short-haul flights from London Heathrow to Frankfurt with paying short-haul passengers.

Lufthansa is planning a slightly different approach for its return to service. The Lufthansa spokesperson told us,

"Flight training with some 60 legs is scheduled for May (only training flights – no commercial flights) – at the airports Hannover (HAJ), Leipzig (LEJ), and Dresden (DRS)."

Three giants slated to return

As previously reported by Simple Flying, Lufthansa is now only expected to bring three Airbus A380s back to the skies, down from an initial count of 4-5 when the reactivation was first announced.

Photo: Santi Rodriguez / Shutterstock.com

D-AIMK was already withdrawn from Teruel Airport at the start of December. Having completed wheel swing tests that were not possible at its storage location, the aircraft is due to fly out to Manila for 33 days of heavy return-to-service maintenance at Lufthansa Technik. The giant quadjet is expected to depart Frankfurt Airport for Manila as LH9922 at 06:15 on January 29th.

Following this, D-AIMM is expected to fly from Teruel to Frankfurt on February 3rd, with D-AIML due to follow in early March.

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