AeroTime
• Gabriele Petrauskaite
Lufthansa is scheduled to fly its final A340-600 passenger service on Oct. 18, closing nearly 23 years of operations with the type. SWISS and Lufthansa are also retiring their A340 fleets, while Edelweiss plans to keep its 23-year-old A340-300 HB-JMC in service until January 2027; the aircraft underwent 15 days of maintenance in Hong Kong in September 2025.
Airbus
Latest source-backed stories
High activity
Lufthansa is scheduled to fly its final A340-600 passenger service on Oct. 18, closing nearly 23 years of operations with the type. SWISS and Lufthansa are also retiring their A340 fleets, while Edelweiss plans to keep its 23-year-old A340-300 HB-JMC in service until January 2027; the aircraft underwent 15 days of maintenance in Hong Kong in September 2025.
SAS commercial chief Paul Verhagen says the carrier expects new widebodies to create a step change in its global long-haul network, adding both reach and depth. The plan follows an earlier deal for up to 40 Airbus aircraft to bolster the Scandinavian airline’s widebody fleet.
KLM’s first A350-900, registered PH-ZNA, arrived in Amsterdam from Toulouse on Oct. 2 as a new aircraft. The airline has also clarified which destinations the type will serve, marking the start of a long-haul fleet renewal program, though the available reports do not specify routes or delivery plans beyond the first aircraft.
Airbus Helicopters’ forthcoming campaign for its Racer compound-rotorcraft demonstrator will test engine “eco-mode,” low-noise approach procedures and longer-range flight capability. The trials are intended to show the aircraft can deliver more than high-speed performance, examining operational characteristics that could shape the case for compound rotorcraft.
High activity
The US-based lessor’s commitment is its largest aircraft order to date and expands its portfolio with 75 A320neo-family aircraft. ACG expects deliveries from 2032 through 2035, placing the order against a long-dated production and delivery pipeline for Airbus’ narrowbody family.
Airbus recorded 14 net new aircraft orders in September 2026, according to ch-aviation. The available report provides no further detail on customers, aircraft types or deliveries.
Air freight is divided roughly evenly between cargo carried in the belly holds of passenger aircraft and shipments moved on dedicated freighters. That balance frames the question of whether an A330-900F could fill a role alongside the larger A350F, though the available article summary provides no further case for or against the proposed aircraft.
Island Aviation Services, the parent company of Maldivian, is seeking up to two Airbus A220-300s through operating leases. The report gives no details on timing, potential lessors or how the aircraft would fit into the airline’s existing fleet and network plans.
Create a free account to see more recent Airbus stories and keep bookmarks in one place.
