Lufthansa Pulls Another Airbus A380 Out Of Storage

Another Lufthansa double-decker has departed from storage in Spain to return to the German carrier, Lufthansa. D-AIMH took to the skies on Wednesday, November 15th, for the journey home.

The aircraft, which last operated in September 2021, has spent almost two years under the supervision of Tarmac Aerosave, an aircraft storage facility located at Teruel Airport (TEV) in the Teruel Province in Eastern Spain.

LH9901

Departing on Wednesday, November 15th, from Plataforma Aeroportuaria-Teruel, also known more commonly as Teruel Airport, the aircraft was expected to be bound for Germany by noon; however, it only pushed back at 13:08 instead of noon.

The two-hour and 15-minute journey towards Frankfurt appears to have been operated without issue, passing over the South of France, Monaco, Milan, east of Zurich, before entering German airspace, and over Stuttgart before descending into Frankfurt with a sharp left turn, landing in a westerly direction.

The aircraft traveled at an altitude of 40,000ft for most of the journey, and while it departed behind schedule from Teruel, the aircraft touched down at the LH hub at 15:24, just short of an hour behind its scheduled arrival time of 14:36 (according to Flightradar).

Lufthansa has four of its superjumbos in service: D-AIMK, D-AIML, D-AIMM, and D-AIMN. The return of D-AIMH will mark the fifth return to the carrier, which is all destined to be based at Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport (MUC), in support of a robust summer schedule, as told by a Lufthansa spokesperson to Simple Flying back in June:

Back to the skies

D-AIMH was ferried to Plataforma Aeroportuaria-Teruel (PLATA), Teruel Airport (TEV), on September 14th, 2021. Over two years ago, the aircraft was sent for storage under LH9921, departing at 09:30, 30 minutes behind the expected departure of 09:00, before arriving in Spain at 11:30, its scheduled arrival time.

Photo: Dirk Daniel Mann | Shutterstock

The aircraft, which carries the registration D-AIMH, serial number 70, took its first test flight over a decade ago on December 9th, 2010. The aircraft was delivered to Lufthansa seven months later, on July 7th, 2011. Named ‘New York,’ the aircraft has eight first class seats, 78 in business class, 52 in Lufthansa’s popular premium economy class, and 371 in the remainder in the economy. Four Rolls-Royce Trent 970 engines power the A380.

Over the northern hemisphere summer, Munich had seen the A380 flying to Boston, New York, and Los Angeles; however, as we head into winter, the carrier has readjusted its schedule and plans to send the aircraft to New York, Los Angeles, and now, Bangkok.

Read More: Lufthansa Redeploys The Airbus A380 To Thailand

Recommencing the double-decker to Bangkok took place on October 28th, and the upscale of the aircraft from the A350-900 to the A380 to Thailand represents the resumption of Lufthansa A380 flights to the Asia-Pacific region.

Did you ever fly on a Lufthansa A380? Let us know in the comments.

Sources: Flightradar24, Airfleets