Malaysian Airlines announced plans to retire the Airbus A380 fleet entirely earlier this week after only nine years in service.
The airline has a fleet of 6 Airbus A380’s which were first delivered to the airline in 2012. The Malaysian flag carrier is joining an increasing list of airlines that are phasing out the A380.
Air France, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa and
Qatar Airways has expressed plans to retire the A380 in the last year.
Malaysian Airlines initially intended to sell the A380 in 2015 with plans to wet-lease the aircraft only for short-term periods when necessary. The Airbus A350 fleet has been slowly replacing all former A380 routes for the airline.
“We are cognizant of the challenges to selling this airplane, but we are still looking at ways and means to dispose of our 380 fleets. At the moment, the management is convinced that the 380 doesn't fit the future plan." - Izham Ismail, Malaysia Airlines CEO
It’s the least of a surprise to see the A380 stored, sold, or retired following the hit on the travel industry due to the pandemic as airlines are struggling to stay afloat.
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