Skip to content
Go to Home Page
News

Lufthansa parks entire A380 fleet due to sharp decline in demand

March 08, 2020
•
2 min read
Lufthansa First Class A380 PVG-FRA
Lufthansa parks entire A380 fleet due to sharp decline in demand
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

Lufthansa, Germany's flag carrier and Europe's largest legacy airline, has decided to temporarily ground its fleet of 14 Airbus A380s due to a sharp decline in bookings since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news

According to an internal memo, the airline is only seeing a load factor of about 35% on its largest aircraft, a grim number that illustrates just how severe the drop in demand for air travel has been.

The superjumbos will be parked at least through the end of May, and will remain at the airline's hubs in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC). Lufthansa's A380s have a total capacity of over 500 seats in a four-class configuration: first, business, premium economy and economy. Before the outbreak worsened in Europe, the airline flew the jets to Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA) and San Francisco (SFO) in the U.S.

The decision to ground the carrier's largest aircraft comes just after it announced that it would be reducing its capacity by as much as 50% due to the drastic decline in demand. It's also planning to implement cost-saving measures to help the airline weather the storm of bad news that the entire industry is facing at the moment.

Related: Coronavirus flight waivers and changes

Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

It's not just Lufthansa that's taking action to mitigate the fallout from the spread of the coronavirus. U.S. airlines have reduced and/or suspended service to areas that are centers of the disease's outbreak including mainland China, South Korea, Japan and Italy.

And yesterday, Cabo Verde Airlines became the first foreign carrier to suspend service to the U.S. as a result of the worsening outbreak of the coronavirus.

TPG featured card

Best for businesses with high spending

Capital One Venture X Business

Apply for Capital One Venture X Business
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees
TPG Editor‘s Rating
4.5 / 5
Go to review
Apply for Capital One Venture X Business
at Capital One's secure site

Rewards

2 - 10X miles

Intro offer

LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles

Annual Fee

$395

Recommended Credit

740-850
Excellent

Why We Chose It

The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)

Pros

  • The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
  • In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
  • Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.

Cons

  • The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
  • Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
  • LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
  • Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
  • Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
  • With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
  • Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
  • Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
  • Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
  • Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
  • Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
  • This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Apply for Capital One Venture X Business
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees
Best for businesses with high spending

Capital One Venture X Business

TPG Editor‘s Rating
4.5 / 5
Go to review

Rewards Rate

2X miles2 miles per dollar on every purchase
5X miles5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
10X miles10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel

  • Intro Offer

    LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles

  • Annual Fee

    $395

  • Recommended Credit

    740-850
    Excellent

Why We Chose It

The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)

Pros

  • The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
  • In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
  • Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.

Cons

  • The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
  • Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
  • LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
  • Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
  • Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
  • With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
  • Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
  • Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
  • Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
  • Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
  • Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
  • This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month