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Lufthansa flew its Airbus A380 to Boston’s Logan Airport Thursday, bringing the decommissioned jet back into service.
The German airline will be deploying four of the aircraft for the Boston to Munich route by the end of the year, the company said in a press release. Lufthansa had announced in 2022 it would be reactivating the A380.
Production of A380s, the largest commercial passenger plane in the world, ended in 2021. Most airlines, including Lufthansa, had discontinued their use of the plane as travel demand fell during the pandemic.
A380s are more costly to operate and harder to fill than smaller aircraft, two factors that contributed to its decline.
Lufthansa said that the decision to revive the aircraft was motivated by a “sharp rise in demand in travel and the delayed delivery of ordered aircraft.” The company noted that the aircraft is “popular with passengers and crews.”
The A380 has 509 seats, which is an 80% increase in capacity for the route, according to Lufthansa. Across the plane’s four cabins, there are 8 seats in first class, 78 seats in business class, 52 seats in premium economy and 371 seats in economy.
Lufthansa said that it will also be resuming A380 flights to JFK Airport in New York City in July and Los Angeles' LAX this winter.
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