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Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 9/97 LTU RETIRES MD-11s TO RATIONALISE FLEET by Heiko Reuter Beginning in the fall of next year, German holiday carrier LTU will put its entire MD-11 fleet out of service to reduce the costs. This plan concerns four aircraft for which LTU is now looking for a buyer. Instead of the 408-seat airliners, LTU will start operating another two Boeing 757 (209 seats) and one Boeing 767 (276 seats). With this fleet restructuring, LTU is reducing its capacity by 938 seats (eleven percent). A company speaker explained that the decision was based on problems with the MD-11 productivity and capacity usage. LTU had to keep up an expensive domestic feeder system (DM60 million per year) to be able to fill the 408 seats of its MD-11s. Another reason given is that the long-range MD-11s had to be operated half of the time on short and medium-range routes. By concentrating on the Boeing and Airbus A330 fleet, together with restructuring the route network, LTU hopes to be able to save a two-digit million amount per year. Just in the feeder traffic alone, the costs will supposedly be cut by half. Due to the strong competition, LTU will not service Los Angeles, San Francisco and Acapulco any more. From page 31 of FLUG REVUE 9/97 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 9/97 Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated August 5, 1997 FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany