dailynewsnblog
While the 
Lufthansa Airbus A380 survived the COVID-19 pandemic as a type, some of the fleet did not. The German flag carrier decided to mothball 6 of the giant aircraft during the pandemic. These planes, flown to Tarbes and Teruel, have now started to be scrapped, but that’s not the end of their stories.
When planes are scrapped, some companies buy parts of the fuselage with the intention of upcycling them. One such company, Aviationtag, has purchased parts of the Airbus A380 registered as D-AIMI and is now selling them to aviation fans as keyrings, bag tags, or simply mementos.
You Can Own Part Of This Airbus A380
Aviationtag has created a run of 22,000 tags from fuselage pieces salvaged from D-AIMI during its recycling. The company has worked with Lufthansa to create this edition, which can be found on Aviationtag’s website now, and will soon also be available in Lufthansa Worldshop stores in Germany.
Unlike the recent Etihad A380 edition, the Lufthansa Airbus A380 aviationtags are only available in white. The airline’s A380 livery is mostly white, and Lufthansa branding was removed from the aircraft before it was dismantled. The tags are being sold for €42.95 ($50.99). Each of the tags features fuselage taken from in front of the wing, and above the wing.
Commenting on the release, Aviationtag CCO Tobias Richter told Simple Flying,
“With this edition we are continuing our long-standing collaboration with Lufthansa. For many aviation fans the A380 is an emotional symbol and we want to preserve that in a tangible collectors piece.”
All About The Airbus A380 D-AIMI
D-AIMI was one of 14 Airbus A380s ordered by Lufthansa, and one of 6 to have already been retired. According to fleet data from Cirium, the aircraft, with MSN 72, first flew on November 16th, 2011. It was delivered on May 14th, 2012, and parked on March 3rd, 2020, giving it seven years and 10 months in service with the German flag carrier.
The jet was ferried to its final resting place of Tarbes, France, on February 22nd, 202,1 and sold back to Airbus in October 2023. It has since been sold on to a US company called Setna IO in February 2025. In its time, flying with Lufthansa, the huge quadjet clocked 25,199 flight hours across 2,590 flights, giving an average flight time of 9.72 hours.
D-AIMI was named Berlin at a ceremony at the former Berlin Tegel Airport. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lufthansa sold a total of 6 out of 14 of its A380s back to Airbus. There is realistically no second-hand market for the Airbus A380, meaning that all six of the retired Lufthansa giants are likely to face a similar fate to D-AIMI.
Lufthansa Reduces Selling Price of Six Airbus A380s
Five of the six A380s suffered storm damage while in storage.
Lufthansa Sticks By Quadjets
While the German flag carrier has retired some Airbus A380s, it remains a unique airline, being the only one to fly the Airbus A340, Airbus A380, Boeing 747-400, and Boeing 747-8 concurrently. At a time when many airlines have scrapped quadjets in favour of more fuel-efficient twinjets such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787.
Lufthansa is slowly moving towards such a fleet, but cannot get the aircraft that it needs fast enough. Tied to this, the average age of the remaining A380s and Boeing 747-8s is 13.9 and 12.3, respectively, according to ch-aviation. While the giants burn more fuel, they still remain cost-effective if Lufthansa can fill them.
Lufthansa is planning to retire the Airbus A340-600 before the end of the year, but still has plans to keep flying the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 for the foreseeable future. In fact, the German flag carrier is even investing in giving one aircraft from either fleet its special 100-year anniversary paint scheme. An Airbus A380 is currently being repainted in Shannon, Ireland.
