After 23 years of service Lufthansa is going to send the trusted Airbus A340-600, nicknamed “The Pencil” on the final journey that will culminate in the last approach following a flight from Washington to Frankfurt.
This will actually be the second time we say goodbye to this iconic plane as they aslready tried to phase it out before the pandemic but then the delayed Boeing 777 and fleet planning made it re-enter service for another five years.
The special thing about the A340-600 was of course the way that that it was stretched in order to increase capacity but also the unique design of having a whole battery of lavatories (and a crew rest) in the lower deck of Economy Class.
Lufthansa had the A340-600 in a Four-class configuration including First Class and I last flew this aircraft )in First) from Frankfurt to Hong Kong in 2023.
The airline even has a special campaign that you can send a message and they will carry it in some form on the place this coming Monday when the long bird makes its final landing at Frankfurt Airport.
A message for the A340-600. 
After 23 years of journeys, countless take-offs and landings, and millions of memories – we want to hear from you.
Write a short note to our A340-600 in the comments.
A memory, a thank you, or simply why this aircraft is special to you.
We’ll bring your messages on board for its final scheduled passenger flight and share them with the A340-600 on its final approach.
Your words. Your memories. One last journey.
I don’t know… that’s a bit much for me. I don’t have a personal relationship with an aircraft type so I guess whatever floats your boat but at least Lufthansa is doing something special here.
After the aircraft were mothballed in Spain during the 2020 pandemic, Lufthansa encountered issues with Boeing; due to delivery delays for new long-haul aircraft, the airline then began gradually reintroducing A340-600s into its long-haul network starting in March 2022 with the D-AIHT leading the way on a flight to Washington. Now, the A340-600 is set to conclude its Lufthansa career with one final round trip to the U.S. capital.
This will all be history soon, when the aircraft touches down in Frankfurt on Monday morning as flight LH419 from Washington, that will be the end and this time for good. In the future, the A340-300 will take over this route until the time comes that the -300 series will be retired as well.
Keep in mind that the (older) Airbus A340-300 will still keep flying for Lufthansa until further notice.
Conclusion
The famous “stretched version” of the Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 will go into the retirement for the second and last time this coming Monday as it completes one final round trip from Frankfurt Washington D.C..
Having been recalled from storage after the pandemic the trusty and iconic A340-600 provided another 4 years of solid service, and I was able to enjoy one more flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong unexpectedly as a last minute booking.
Over the years I have only flown twice on this place, once in Economy between Munich and Los Angeles which must have been ~ 2007 and then the Hong Kong flight in First Class.
Thank you for 23 years of solid, trusted service A340-600 and a last few Happy Landings!