Lufthansa retired its last Airbus A340-600 on Monday, ending 23 years of commercial service for the type with the arrival of flight LH419 from Washington, D.C., the airline said.

The aircraft, registered D-AIHW, landed on schedule at Frankfurt Airport after a flight time of eight hours and five minutes, with 267 passengers and 15 crew on board, according to a Lufthansa press release. It said spotters and influencers were waiting to greet it and passengers applauded on board. Many had bought tickets specifically for the flight, and all received a farewell booklet.

The captain was Francesco Sciortino, a Lufthansa Airlines board member and Frankfurt hub manager, who has flown the A340-600 for many years, the airline said.

“We will never forget this last flight with the A340-600,” Sciortino said. He said the aircraft had safely carried more than 40 million guests in 23 years. He said Lufthansa is looking forward to the largest fleet modernisation in its history and expects the Airbus A350-1000 and further Boeing 787s very soon and the Boeing 777-9 next year.

Lufthansa took delivery of its first A340-600, D-AIHB, on Nov 25, 2003, and named it “Bremerhaven” in 2004. At 75.30 meters, it was the world’s longest passenger aircraft at the time, the airline said. Its first routes were Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. Lufthansa operated 24 aircraft of the type in total.

The airline said the aircraft was used in the CARIBIC climate research project and carried the German national football team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In March 2022, it was the first Lufthansa aircraft to return to Washington after the pandemic grounding, the airline said.

The retirement is part of Lufthansa’s fleet renewal. The airline said the Airbus A340-300, A330-200 and Boeing 747-400 will also leave the fleet by 2027, replaced by A350-1000 and 777-9 aircraft. According to the manufacturers, the newer aircraft are quieter and burn 30 percent less kerosene, with lower emissions to match, the release said.

Lufthansa has 18 Boeing 787-9s in service and expects 11 more by 2027. It expects next-generation aircraft to make up 70 per cent of its long-haul fleet by 2028. A smaller number of aircraft types will also reduce complexity in maintenance, planning and training, it said.