Virgin Atlantic postpones A340 retirement to March

London-based Virgin Atlantic, has yet again delayed the retirement of its Airbus A340s.

One of Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A340-600s. Photo by Ervin Eslami | AeroNewsX

The four-engine aircraft type has been phased out by most airlines around the globe, including Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal among others. However, airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa, have kept the type flying.

It is no secret that Virgin Atlantic has been looking to retire its A340s. Back in September 2019, the carrier said its last A340 service would operate in December 2019. Just one month later, the carrier postponed the retirement to January 2020.

While unconfirmed, Virgin Atlantic has likely had to keep its A340-600s in service due to engine issues with the Boeing 787.

Photo by Ervin Eslami | AeroNewsX

The Trent 1000 engines fitted on Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787s have not run smoothly, to say the least.

Till the end of March, the Airbus A340-600s will continue to operate long haul flights across the Virgin Atlantic network. The final flight is set to be VS26 from New York JFK to London Heathrow on March 28.