Discover Airlines has retired its final Airbus A330-200, completing the withdrawal of the type from the Lufthansa Group leisure carrier’s fleet. Aircraft D-AXGE operated its last scheduled passenger service as flight 4Y051 from Philadelphia to Frankfurt, landing at 06:30 local time. The retirement leaves Discover with a long-haul fleet of 15 Airbus A330-300s and a single A330 variant for intercontinental operations.
Discover operated three A330-200s—D-AXGB, D-AXGE and D-AXGF—which formed its initial fleet after the airline was established in 2020. D-AXGE also operated Discover’s inaugural flight on 24 July 2021. The approximately 22-year-old aircraft retained their original Eurowings Discover livery, as repainting was not considered economically justified late in their service lives.
The retired aircraft are being returned to their owner or lessor at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport in France, where their subsequent deployment will be determined. Removing the smaller A330-200 variant simplifies fleet planning, maintenance and crew and aircraft allocation, while standardising long-haul operations around the A330-300.
Discover plans to introduce Airbus A350-900s from summer 2027. Its intercontinental fleet is expected to reach 20 aircraft by mid-2028, including four A350s.