Tag Archives: a340-600

Welcome Back the Lufthansa 600s

Just when I think I have seen the last of something, I get proved wrong.  The Lufthansa service to Seattle was being provided by A340-300s over the winter but they then switched to A350s.  I thought that might be the last I would see of the A340s but lo and behold, Lufthansa has switched again and this time to the A340-600s.  That was a really pleasant surprise.  At first, I thought it was a short-term change, but they have been in use for some time now.

I went down shortly after they returned to catch some shots.  I didn’t realize that there would be plenty of chances at that point, so I figured I should try and catch them quickly.  With it being midsummer, the heat haze is a significant problem – particularly at the time of day that they depart.  I decided to try and slightly different location that might provide a nicer angle, would be closer but was more problematic with trees getting in the way.

The results are okay, but the conditions are just not conducive to getting the cleanest shots.  Even closer in, the haze issues are apparent.  A while later, I did go back to another favorite spot and shot from there with similar issues regarding the conditions.  I don’t know how long they will remain on this route and whether I will have a chance to try in slightly better times – a nice delay to later in the day would help – but at least they are in the old Lufthansa colors for the most part, so we get a bit more color than is the case for most of the fleet at this point.

How Long for Lufthansa A340s?

The A340s are disappearing from the fleets of major airlines pretty quickly as the 787s and A350s come in to service.  Lufthansa is one airline that still has not only the A340-600 in service but the A340-300 too.  I shot a 600 on approach to SFO last year and it got me wondering just how long they have remaining in service.  While fuel prices are relatively low, they may hang on but higher fuel prices could accelerate their demise.  We shall see.  In the meantime, here are some of their fleet in service across the years.

Lufthansa A340 and His Buddy

Heading back to Hawthorne after my flight over LAX, another plane was coming in to the southern complex.  I had forgotten it was due and, after moving to the south of the field, we could have got a good shot of it landing.  Never mind.  This Lufthansa A340-600 beat me but I was able to get a shot of him from a distance as we headed in and, since there was a parallel approach on the northside, I got his little cousin in the shot too.

One More Chance With Virgin’s A340s

Substitutions on the Seattle route are not just limited to Lufthansa.  Virgin Atlantic has been flying the route with the 787-9 but, as with a lot of the Rolls Dreamliner operators, Virgin has been suffering from engine shortages while the blade cracking problems are dealt with.  They have brought the A340-600 on to the route in the interim.  I thought I wouldn’t be seeing these again after the last examples at SFO I saw but I got another chance.  Not great light but it was good to see one more time.

Lufthansa A340

C59F7862.jpgMy quest for a Virgin Atlantic A340 had an unintended side benefit. It turns out that Lufthansa also run an A340-600 in to SFO around the same time of day as Virgin Atlantic. While the Virgin jet was on final, the Lufthansa jet was coming over the top before turning in for approach. Why not hang around for a few more minutes and get another 340? Lufthansa are not getting rid of them so quickly but they won’t be around forever so I might as well make the most of the opportunity.

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Virgin A340-600

AU0E1840.jpgPeriodically, this blog gets populated with something that is disappearing be it an airline or a type of plane. Virgin Atlantic has been operating a single 747 in to SFO for years now. Recently they started up a second service five days a week. It is intended that this service will be operated with a 787-9 but the number delivered is not enough at this point. Therefore, they are using an A340-600 to start things before transitioning to the 787 in October. I have a relatively narrow window in which it will be operating and then it won’t be long before the A340s are gone from Virgin’s fleet. With a bunch of stuff coming up, I was looking for a chance to get a shot.

AU0E1714.jpgHaving the plane was only part of the issue. Having a nice day was another. Also, it arrives around 7pm so I needed to get it before the evenings get shorter and it shows up after dark. The only problem with that is that the heat haze is bad at this time of year. Nothing I can do about that so I have to make the best of things. Fortunately, I chose a nice evening. The light was good, the timing was right and the heat haze, while present, was not so bad as to run things completely. These images won’t survive too much scrutiny but I am glad to have got them before time runs out.