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.

Fortunately all is not lost. There are still a number of Boeing 747s in passenger service, although your options are limited to just five airlines.

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

If you are keen to give the 747 a go before she disappears completely from passenger flying, AeroRoutes has published a full list of routes for the current Summer 2023 flying season.

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.

Lufthansa

By far the biggest operator of 747s, Lufthansa has a mixed fleet of eight older 747-400s and 19 newer 747-8s.

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

• Bangalore (747-400, until the end of May)
• Buenos Aires (747-8)
• Chicago (747-8)
• Delhi (747-400)
• Houston (747-400 / 747-8)
• Johannesburg (747-8)
• Los Angeles (747-8)
• Mexico City (747-8)
• Miami (747-8)
• Newark (747-8, from 1st May)
• San Francisco (747-8)
• Sao Paulo (747-8)
• Singapore (747-8)
• Palma de Mallorca (747-400, once a week in April)
• Seoul Incheon (747-400)
• Shanghai Pudong (747-400)
• Tokyo Haneda (747-8)
• Toronto (747-400)
• Vancouver (747-400)
• Washington DC (747-8)

Korean Air

The second-largest operator of the 747-8, Korean Air has a fleet of 16. Assuming the merger with Asiana goes ahead, it may find itself inheriting some 747-400s as well (see below). All flights depart from Seoul Incheon Airport:

• Atlanta (747-8)
• Honolulu (747-8, until 21st May)
• Los Angeles (747-8)
• New York JFK (747-8, starting 1st June)
• Paris CDG (747-8, starting 22nd May)

Asiana

Asiana operates a fleet of 11 Boeing 747-400s. All flights operate from Seoul Incheon Airport on regional flights:

• Ho Chi Minh City (747-400)
• Shanghai Pudong (747-400)

Air China

All 747 flights operate from Beijing Capital Airport on domestic services to:

• Shenzhen (747-400)
• Guangzhou (747-8)
• Shanghai Hongqiao (747-8 from 1st May)

Saudia

Whilst Saudia doesn’t have its own fleet of 747s, it leases them from Air Atlanta Icelandic between March and May to offer Hajj pilgrimate flights on the following routes from Jeddah:

• Algiers (747-400)
• Dhaka (747-400)
• Tunis (747-400)

Conclusion

From a UK perspective, Lufthansa is 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 as Lufthansa has already confirmed it will refit the fleet with its new Allegris cabins, although it’s not clear when.

Otherwise this is an ever-shrinking list. It won’t be very long before there are no scheduled passenger services operated by the Boeing 747 and the book will well and truly close on that era.

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.