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Earlier this month, Boeing delivered its last ever Boeing 747 to Atlas Air. Sadly, this means that Boeing has now shut down its Boeing 747 production line – just as Airbus did with its A380 assembly line in 2021 due to a lack of orders from airlines other than Emirates.
The Boeing 747 is one of the most distinctly recognisable jets due to its upper deck “bubble” and has long been popular with passengers. But with no more ever to be built, they will slowly start to become rarer and rarer.
The good news for fans of the “queen of the skies” is that Boeing 747s will continue gracing our skies for years to come. The newest version of the jumbo jet, the Boeing 747-8, is still relatively young.
The Boeing 747-8 was much more popular with cargo operators than passenger airlines. But three carriers – Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China – will continue to fly Boeing 747-8s with passengers for the foreseeable future.
At the moment, Korean Air is flying its Boeing 747-8s from Seoul to Honolulu, Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York.
Air China is using them exclusively for domestic flights right now, although it did use its Boeing 747s on routes like Beijing-Frankfurt before the pandemic (and will probably resume doing so soon).
Germany’s national carrier and Star Alliance member Lufthansa has by far the most route options for Boeing 747-8 fans. From its main hub in Frankfurt, Lufthansa is currently flying Boeing 747-8s to over a dozen destinations including Singapore, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Delhi, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Miami and Vancouver.
Launched in 1989, the Boeing 747-400 was much more popular in its heyday with airlines than the 747-8. These have been a common sight at international airports for the past three decades. But there are now only 11 of the -400 series left in regular passenger service…
Most airlines have now retired their Boeing 747-400s
For 49 years, the iconic Boeing 747 held a proud place in Qantas’ international fleet. The first, a Boeing 747-200, was delivered to the airline in 1971. Over the years, Qantas then took delivery of Boeing 747SPs, 747-200 Combis, 747-300s, 747-400s and finally six 747-400ERs which were specially built for Qantas.
But in 2020, Qantas retired the last of its Boeing 747s. By the end of that year, most other passenger airlines including British Airways had done the same. Many of these planes were already nearing the end of their lives anyway, and with COVID-19 decimating demand for long-haul travel, airlines could no longer afford to fly and maintain such large, expensive aircraft.
Most of the Boeing 747-400s still in service today are exclusively flying freight (or VIPs as luxury charter jets). But there are still four airlines flying a total of 11 remaining Boeing 747-400s with passengers in 2023.
Boeing 747-400 passenger routes in 2023
As is the case with the more modern Boeing 747-8, you’ll have the best chance of flying on a Boeing 747-400 in 2023 with Lufthansa.
Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 routes
Lufthansa still has eight Boeing 747-400s in active passenger service. The oldest of these is 25 years old, while the youngest just turned 21.
These 747-400s are currently being used on the routes from Frankfurt to New York (JFK), Chicago, Washington (Dulles), Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Seoul and Bengaluru.
Over the coming months, the Boeing 747-400s will progressively be taken off the routes to Chicago, Washington, Bengaluru and Shanghai, which will be switched to 747-8s. But 747-400s are still scheduled on selected flights to Seoul, New York, Beijing and Qingdao through to the end of the current schedule.
If you live in Australia, your best chance of getting on a Boeing 747-400 this year is probably flying Lufthansa between Seoul and Frankfurt on LH712 or LH713.
If you want to book a Business Class seat on Lufthansa using points or miles with a Star Alliance airline (such as Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles), you’re most likely to find availability in Business Class when booking just a few days out from departure.
But there is plenty of award availability in Economy Class. You could also book a seat as part of a Lufthansa round-the-world ticket.
Other airlines
Asiana and Air China, both members of Star Alliance, also still have one Boeing 747-400 each in operation.
Asiana is currently using its aircraft (registration: HL7428) to fly once per week from Seoul to Shanghai. Meanwhile, Air China is using its B747-400 (registration: B-2447) for a daily Beijing-Shenzhen rotation (flights CA1313 & CA1314).
The other airline still using a Boeing 747-400 on regularly scheduled passenger flights is Mahan Air in Iran.
This isn’t an airline most Australians would ever fly. But if you do happen to be flying with Mahan Air, this airline is still using a Boeing 747-400 (registration: EP-MEE) on selected flights from Tehran to Moscow, Dubai and Istanbul. (Most of these are currently scheduled as Airbus A310 or A340 flights, but some flights are being switched out to the 747 at short notice.)
Russian airline Rossiya also still has Boeing 747-400s in its fleet, but these have been grounded for some time.
You can still climb aboard two Boeing 747s in Australia
While they are no longer able to fly, there are still two Boeing 747s in Australian museums. Both of these museums offer guided tours inside the iconic jets.
Qantas’ first Boeing 747-400, registered as VH-OJA, is on display at the HARS Museum at Shellharbour Airport near Wollongong.
There’s also a Boeing 747-300 as part of the Qantas Founders Museum collection at Longreach in outback Queensland. If you’d like to learn more about this museum, I interviewed its CEO Tony Martin in episode 42 of the AFF on Air podcast.
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