Originally Posted by
Rivet Joint
Im not sure about that. The 747s days were numbered before Covid. If they were going to remove a fleet during Covid it was always going to be the 747s. It’s only a small fleet of A380s so removing them would have not saved much plus they are much younger. The only reason Lufthansa are still flying 747-4s is because they can’t get new aircraft. They were suppose to have lots of 787s and 777xs by now. 747-8s are younger and BA never had any.
That's not actually true, all of the G-BYGx series and a number of the G-CIVx series were not scheduled for retirement until 2025 [at the earliest] hence that was the reason for putting in the new interiors and the new Panasonic IFE in a number of those airframes [with an ongoing program that was obviously halted during COVID] If they had kept those airframes in reserve, they wouldn't have been in the long haul capacity short fall that they find themselves in now, as they could have further extended them in service with the late delivery of newer long haul airframes such as the B777X.
Removing the A380s would have saved more than you think. You have the A380 leasing costs [B747-436s were all owned] and spares are neither plentiful or cheap for the A380. I point you to the example of Emirates, who removed a couple of A380s just so they could part them out for spares. Not only did BA overhaul a lot of B747 spares in house [see my previous post] a number of spares used on Boeing 747s were also common to other Boeing models so plentiful and [relatively] cheap in comparison.
And your statement 'The only reason Lufthansa are still flying 747-4s is because they can’t get new aircraft' I don't think that problem only affects Lufthansa.