Where can you still fly on a Boeing 747?

If you’ve never flown on a Boeing 747, the original jumbo jet, you may feel like you have missed out on a historic aviation experience. After all, the Queen of the Skies defined an era and fundamentally changed air travel forever, dominating long-haul flying for decades.

In the UK, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were amongst the last operators of the aircraft with BA having the biggest fleet in the world. Both retired their 747s in 2020 during the pandemic, sharply reducing your chances of ever flying one again.

Yesterday we ran an updated version of our history of the Boeing 747 at British Airways.

Fortunately all is not lost. There are still a number of Boeing 747s in passenger service, although your options continue to dwindle, with just three options now available, down from five in 2023.

We have compiled this list based on Cirium’s schedule data for August 2025.

In Europe, Lufthansa continues to fly a fleet of 747-400 and 747-8i (the newer version with the larger upper deck) whilst Air China and Korean also have small fleets.

Whilst aircraft can never be guaranteed due to last minute swaps or engineering issues, the following routes are currently due to be flown with a 747 in August 2025 and, in probably all cases, other months too.

Lufthansa

By far the biggest operator of 747s, Lufthansa has a mixed fleet of 19 747 aircraft.

Lufthansa’s 747s operate exclusively from Frankfurt and will eventually be partly refurbished with the new Allegris business class and First Class cabins.

Current destinations:

• Buenos Aires
• Chicago
• Houston
• Johannesburg
• Los Angeles
• Mexico City
• Miami
• New York (Newark)
• Tokyo Haneda
• San Francisco
• Sao Paulo
• Washington Dulles

Korean Air

The second-largest operator of the newer 747-8, Korean Air is down to a fleet of four. It sold five to the United States to become ‘Doomsday planes’ capable of acting as a command and control centre during a nuclear war.

Flights depart from Seoul Incheon airport to:

• Hong Kong
• Los Angeles

Air China

All 747 flights operate from Beijing Capital airport on services to:

• Guangzhou
• New York JFK
• Shanghai Hongqiao
• Washington Dulles

Conclusion

From a UK perspective, Lufthansa is by far your easiest way to fly a Boeing 747 thanks to its large fleet and easy access from UK airports.

The newer 747-8s are expected to operate for some time yet. Lufthansa has already confirmed it will refit the fleet with its new Allegris cabins – although not on the upper deck because it doesn’t fit. Oops! Otherwise this is an ever-shrinking list.

If you’re interested in learning more about the 747, we’ve also published a behind-the-scenes look at Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 747 fleet plus a history of the Boeing 747 as well as the story of the Boeing 747 at British Airways.