A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for history and regional aviation, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft. He has visited OEM facilities as far and wide as Bristol, Toulouse, and Seattle, and recently enjoyed the milestone of flying his 150th sector as a passenger. Based in Norfolk, UK.
As one generation of widebody aircraft makes way for another, it is no secret that the world's widebody fleets are in a state of transition. However, this trend has rarely manifested itself as clearly as yesterday, when two Lufthansa Group airlines reached different milestones concerning their long-haul aircraft. Specifically, SWISS sent an A340 to retirement while Lufthansa announced its first A350-1000 route.
The Airbus A340 has long been a favorite among avgeeks for its rare four-engine configuration, but its days are now limited as airlines look to the next generation of long-haul widebody aircraft for their narrowbody flights. At the Lufthansa Group, the Airbus A350 is set to play an increasingly important role on this front, amid the forthcoming arrival of the A350-1000 at the German flag carrier.
The Last Flight
As spotted on Simple Flying's Flight Tracker, yesterday marked the last flight for HB-JMB, a 23-year-old SWISS Airbus A340-300. Having taken off from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) on October 8 on its last passenger flight (LX53), it landed in Zurich (ZRH) on October 9. Then, 5 days later, October 14 saw it fly into retirement, with Flightradar24 noting that it took off at 8:38 AM as LX5202.
Aviation Reported added that HB-JMB's final takeoff was marked with three 'wing waves' as it left Swiss soil, with its destination being Enschede Airport Twente (ENS) in the Netherlands. It landed there at 9:43 AM local time on Wednesday morning, after just 65 minutes in the air. The A340 has been an important jet for SWISS over the years, with CEO Jens Fehlinger outlining preservation plans last month:
"Our goal is clear: we want to bring [SWISS's last] A340 to Lucerne in early 2028. The task now is to work with our many partners to make its extraordinary journey there possible."
SWISS's Remaining A340 Operations
Coverage of the matter by Aviacionline noted that HB-JMB is the first SWISS A340 to be retired this year, with three more aircraft left in its fleet. These widebody quadjets bear the registrations HB-IFA, HB-IFB, and HB-IFC ,and they, too, will eventually be replaced by new Airbus A350-900 twinjets at SWISS. According to ch-aviation, SWISS has received three A350-900s and has another seven on order.
A closer look at scheduling data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that SWISS is in the process of consolidating the remaining routes that are served by its shrinking fleet of Airbus A340-300s. By next month, just three destinations will be served by the type from Zurich: Chicago (ORD), Dubai (DXB), and Mumbai (BOM). The latter will cease in January, followed by the other two in June.
One thing that has long made SWISS stand out from its fellow European carriers is the fact that all of its long-haul jets feature a first class cabin. According to the airline's website, its A340-300s are configured with eight first class, 42 business, 21 premium economy, and 144 economy seats. The replacement A350s, meanwhile, have three first class, 45 business, 38 premium economy, and 156 economy seats.
Lufthansa Is A Month Away From Its First A350-1000 Delivery As Tokyo Awaits
At around the same time as SWISS's retiring A340 flew to Enschede on Wednesday, there was big news concerning incoming widebodies at another Lufthansa Group airline. Specifically, 
Lufthansa itself announced yesterday morning that Munich (MUC) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) had been selected as the debut route for the German carrier's first Airbus A350-1000, which is set to be delivered in mid-November.
As seen above, this jet will wear Lufthansa's 100th anniversary livery and be named 'Deutschland,' with its commercial debut on the route from Munich to Tokyo set for December 3 of this year. Its second and third routes will also have an Asian flavor, with Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) being the destinations. Lufthansa has 15 A350-1000s on order in total.