As Lufthansa continues to upgrade its fleet, it is only natural that older, less efficient aircraft are retired and removed from the fleet. In this case, Lufthansa’s last operating ATR 72-500 will fly off into its retirement when it completes its last flight tomorrow evening. This ATR currently flies for Lufthansa’s Air Dolomiti and her last flight will operate as LH1940, departing Munich at 9:45p and arriving in Trieste, Italy at 10:55p.
ATR72-500 — courtesy of Wikipedia
According to Lufthansa, this will be the second time in the airline’s history that it will not have propeller driven planes in the fleet. The last period began in 1971 when Lufthansa retired their last Vickers Viscount 814. Propeller aircraft returned to the fleet in the early 1980s when regional routes were growing and demand increased for aircraft with lower seating capacity than their jet-powered cousins.
At the peak of popularity, Lufthansa had upwards of 50 propeller-powered aircraft serving her routes in the 1980s and 90s.
Its always a bit sad to see an aircraft type removed from service, but with faster and more advanced jets taking their place, its obviously a change for the better.
IF anyone is scheduled to be on that flight to Trieste, be sure to take photos of the ‘event’ and enjoy the last propeller hums that you’ll hear in Lufthansa’s fleet!
…you know that modern turboprop aircraft are FAR more efficient (fuel use per seat, etc.) than similarly-sized jets on most of the missions they fly, right?
Yes, but we are not talking about current day turoprops – these ATR’s have been around for years and years and are not nearly as efficient. Not to mention the passenger comfort improvement you have with a jet vs. prop. Also, LH is looking to streamline maintenance operations, so removing a few turboprops will reduce costs of upkeeping a few outlyer aircraft.