Following the Boeing 747, the iconic D-ABOD Boeing 707 and the Airbus A340, we are now adding the Airbus A320 to our Aviationtag Lufthansa fleet with the plane “Papa Bravo”. The D-AIPB was a real oldie, sporting the very early MSN 70. To put this into context: Airbus already delivered MSN 10,000 to Middle East Airlines in 2020 and is currently at MSN 11,137.
The D-AIPB left the factory doors for the Star Alliance member back in October 1989 - so before the reunification of Germany - and was christened “Heidelberg”. “Papa Bravo” was powered by CFM56-5A1 engines, but unlike the earliest A320s, it already had small “wingtip fences” on the wingtips, reducing air turbulence and slightly lowering fuel consumption. Originally, 156 Economy and Business Class seats were installed on board. Since 2011, the seating has been increased to 168 seats. It was not until 2019, so after more than 30 years of service, that the Airbus A320-211 was retired and finally recycled in 2020 in Ostend.
After its final scheduled flight from Dublin to Munich, at the end of October 2019 the twin-engine plane embarked on what would be its very last journey from Munich to Ostend in Belgium with flight number LH 992, where it was then dismantled in 2020. With a good 90,000 flying hours and almost 60,000 flight cycles under its belt, the plane had reached the end of its commercial life. Now the “Papa Bravo” lives on as an Aviationtag edition, continuing the long history of the successful Airbus A320 project.
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