China Southern has officially retired the last of its A380 aircraft, some 12 years after the carrier took delivery of its first superjumbo.
At its peak the airline had a fleet of five A380s, operating them on domestic services alongside routes to LA, Sydney and Amsterdam.
In January 2020 we reported that China Southern was planning to bring its superjumbo to London Heathrow, but just a few weeks later the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
The carrier has gradually been disposing of its A380 fleet, and its last superjumbo revenue service is thought to have taken place in November 2022, although two A380s remained on China Southern’s books.
But as reported by flightglobal.com the airline’s half-year financial report published this week confirms that the final two A380s have now left the carrier’s fleet.
The news comes as Lufthansa this week confirmed plans to reactivate two more of its A380 superjumbos.
Following the lows of Covid-19 when almost all carrier’s grounded their A380 fleets, the superjumbo has been enjoying a renaissance in recent months.
Etihad brought the first of four of its A380s back into operation in July, and last month Qantas announced plans to bring the last of its ten superjumbos back into service.
Even secondhand A380s are finding themselves homes, with start-up transatlantic carrier Global Airlines having acquired four of the aircraft.
Global Airlines agrees purchase of three more A380 superjumbos