Airbus A340

Editors discuss what the Boeing 737-10's long-awaited certification means for the industry and what's happening with the 777X. They also reflect on the A340-600 after Lufthansa retired the quadjet.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Lufthansa retired its final three Airbus A340-600s on Oct. 19, ending 23 years of four-engine widebody service.

Airbus and Lufthansa Group have signed a deal to support the airline group’s fleet of Airbus A220s.

Wet-lease and charter operator USC Aero has bought five former Lufthansa A340-600s to expand its fleet and bolster its spares stock as it targets long-term ACMI contracts.

Earlier this year, Lufthansa announced an acceleration in its ongoing fleet retirement that will change its efficiency profile in terms of carbon emissions, but by how much?

The Bournemouth Airport-based airline operated a fleet of 10 A340-600 freighters on long-haul routes, making use of the aircraft's 7,900 nm (14,630 km) range.

This week, Flight Friday focuses on Africa, investigating how each aircraft class is being utilized when compared to an equivalent pre-pandemic month.

Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss may utilize its Airbus A340-300s longer to cover ground times as the reconfiguration program for its A330s gets underway.

BlueLight Humanitarian Airlines on its maintenance strategy for Airbus A340 mission operations.

South African Airways is ramping up its codeshare partnerships to bolster its network reach while seeking to grow its widebody fleet next year.

SpiceJet has begun a major fleet ramp-up for the winter schedule season with the arrival of the first of several damp-leased aircraft it has secured.

A Swiss executive outlined further details of the airline's widebody fleet strategy during a visit to Toulouse to assess the flag carrier's first Airbus A350.

Turbo Resources has a three-year consignment arrangement with Aircraft Engine Lease Finance covering a variety of aircraft and engine parts.

With Aero-Engines Asia-Pacific coming up April 23-24, this week's Flight Friday looks at widebody engine utilization by Asia-Pacific operators.

Aeras Aviation is expanding engine teardown activity to include additional platforms such as the CFM56-5C, V2500 and PW4000.

Lufthansa will halt Frankfurt-Beijing flights starting Oct. 26, becoming the latest European airline to cut services to mainland China.

Lufthansa has revealed plans for a major revamp of its fleet that will see the mainline Lufthansa Airlines operate a lot fewer narrowbodies by 2028.

Edelweiss Air plans to open new routes from Switzerland to Seattle and Halifax during the summer 2025 season.

Lufthansa Airlines' long-haul fleet will be streamlined by decommissioning its Airbus A340-300, A340-600, A330-200 and Boeing 747-400 sub-fleets by 2028.

Swiss is expected to receive its first of five Airbus A350-900s in the second quarter of 2025.

Seoul will become the third new long-haul destination in Swiss’ network this summer.

Perth will become South African Airways’ second intercontinental destination since the carrier exited a business rescue process.

By the end of 2026, the existing five A340-300s should be replaced, and Edelweiss’ long-haul fleet will be restored to pre-pandemic levels.

USC is a privately owned carrier focusing on operating Airbus A340s on either wet-leases or charters globally.