Various airlines have retired or announced their plans to retire older aircrafts in their fleets in the past few weeks, such as Condor, and some other airlines.
By: Gareth
Published on: 12 March 2024, 10.03pm (GMT +8)
Condor's Boeing 767 had its last ever flight today (12 March 2024). Photo: Condor
Out with the old, in with the new: various airlines have retired or announced their plans to retire classic aircraft types in the past few weeks, among them Condor, Qatar Airways, and Asiana Airlines.
Data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 revealed that Condor Airlines' last commercial Boeing 767 flight from Havana to Frankfurt landed at FRA at 1212 local time on 12 March (1112 UTC). The 767-300ER, registered D-ABUK (MSN 30009) was delivered to Condor in 1999 and is currently 24 years old. It has an unblemished safety record throughout its period of service, mainly being put to work connecting Condor's Frankfurt hub with destinations in the USA and Caribbean.
Condor has yet to announce bulk orders for aircraft that will replace the 767, so it remains a mystery what new experiences passengers can expect. But what we do know is that Condor will be now operating a full Airbus fleet, which some passengers might look forward to.
The last flight of Condor's Boeing 767 was from Havana to Frankfurt. Photo: Flightradar24
In addition to Condor, Qatar Airways, which is based in Doha, Qatar, is also retiring old Boeing aircraft in preparation for the delivery of Boeing 777X aircraft. The Boeing 777X specially developed for the flag carrier to connect Doha Hamad International Airport to European Destinations, which has set the stage for more B777X orders.
The carrier has also announced that all of its aging Boeing 777 aircraft currently in it's fleet will be retired at the end of 2025, leaving their 787s to bear the brunt of long-haul service demand until the first of the B777Xs arrive in 2025 to 2026. Qatar Airways’s Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker mentioned that the Boeing 777-8s will be replacing the current Boeing 777-200(LR)s while the Boeing 777-9 variant will be replacing the current Boeing 777-300(ER). Adding on to the airline’s retirement plan, they are also planning to phase out their Airbus A320-200s and Airbus A330-200 and -300 variants in the near future, with plans to have a large number of Boeing 777Xs in their fleet.
Qatar's fleet of Boeing 777s are set to be retired by 2026. Photo: Turning Left for Less
Swiss International Airlines and Asiana Airlines are also intending to replace old aircraft with newer and more efficient models. The all-time favourite Airbus A340-400s and -600s will be removed from Swiss’ fleet by the end of the year, and Asiana has already begun phasing out its Boeing 747-400 passenger fleet, with it's last of the type, HL7428, only flying between Seoul and Taipei till it's last flight in late March, along with various other airlines.
Meanwhile, adding onto the list will be Lufthansa, based in Frankfurt, Germany, who are currently known for keeping old aircrafts in their fleet.
Despite trying their best to maintain these old aircraft, Lufthansa has decided to phase out their Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340s, with plans to completely retire the all the Boeing 747-400s in their fleet and possibly the older Boeing 747-8s by late 2025, replacing them with the Boeing 777-9s already on order.
Lufthansa is set to replace the older aircrafts with newer ones like the Boeing 777X. Photo: Simple Flying
The Airbus A340 is expected to be replaced by the Airbus A350. So do fly on one of these wonderful jets while you can, as you soon won't be able to see them grace the skies anymore.
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