Lufthansa Retires the Airbus A340-600 on October 18 After 23 Years

October 16, 2026 — Lufthansa will fly its last Airbus A340-600 passenger flight this Sunday, October 18, ending 23 years of the long, four-engine jet in its fleet.

The final flight

The last scheduled flight is LH419 from Washington Dulles to Frankfurt on Sunday, October 18, 2026. It leaves Washington at 17:55 local time and lands in Frankfurt at 07:55 local time on Monday, October 19. The sources do not say which aircraft will fly it (TBA). Its A340-600s were registered from D-AIHA to D-AIHZ.

Background

Lufthansa took delivery of 24 A340-600s between 2003 and 2008. Four were still flying, and all four retire on October 18.
The airline grounded the type at the start of the pandemic and planned to retire it then. It brought the aircraft back when demand returned and new deliveries ran late, including the Boeing 777X and the A350 and 787 aircraft delayed by Lufthansa’s Allegris cabin problems.
The A340-600s are being replaced by twin-engine aircraft, including the A350 and 787. Lufthansa’s first A350-1000 is due to start flying in December on Munich–Tokyo.
Lufthansa still has close to a dozen A340-300s, which are expected to retire sometime in 2027.
Once Lufthansa is done, Conviasa of Venezuela and Mahan Air of Iran are the only airlines still flying the A340-600 on scheduled flights.

What it means for travelers

If you want to fly the A340-600 one last time, LH419 on October 18 is the only option. Enthusiasts are likely to book farewell flights, so expect a full flight.
Check the aircraft type on Lufthansa’s Washington–Frankfurt flights after October 18. The replacement aircraft and its seat count are TBA, which could change how many seats are available on that route.
If you want to ride a Lufthansa A340 after Sunday, the A340-300s are expected to keep flying until sometime in 2027.