Flying the Boeing 747 in 2023

DALLAS — The Boeing 747 is arguably the most illustrious passenger aircraft ever produced. It is one of the most recognizable commercial aircraft in the world, thanks to the recognizable hump on the front of the fuselage.

As time went on, Boeing 747 variants were gradually taken out of service, leaving only a small number in use for commercial passenger transport. Older versions, on the other hand, have been moved to cargo operations.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden drop in air travel demand forced airlines to retire the type from service early in 2020, leaving only a few carriers still operating the Boeing 747 across the globe. The pandemic was the biggest blow to the Jumbo Jet.

In this article, we'll look at the passenger airlines that will still operate the Boeing 747 in 2023 and the likelihood that we'll get to fly on the legacy aircraft next year.

Air China

Chinese flag carrier Air China (CA) is the only passenger Boeing 747 operator in Chinese history. The airline still owns a small fleet of 10 jumbo jets: three Boeing 747-400 and seven Boeing 747-8 aircraft.

However, the majority of the fleet is currently grounded or is destined to fly government officials internationally from the country's capital. A Boeing 747-8 with the registration B-2479 was delivered to the carrier in 2014 and is outfitted with a VIP interior to transport the head of state of that nation.

Registrations B-2445 and B-2447 are two Boeing 747-400P variants, where the “P” stands for "Presidential." These two units are unique in that, upon request from any delegation or PRC government official, they can be converted from passenger to VIP configuration.

Air China currently operates a single Boeing 747 in commercial passenger service. It has the registration B-2487 and is exclusively used for flight CA1327 from Beijing (PEK) to Guangzhou (CAN), which is an airbridge connecting two of the largest population centers in China.

Asiana Airlines

Awaiting the potential merger of the two largest airlines in South Korea, Asiana Airlines (OZ) still operates its own routes. One is the shortest Boeing 747 flight in the world as of October 2022.

This hour-and-a-half connection operates every Tuesday between the capital city of South Korea, Seoul (ICN), and the Chinese city of Changchun (CGQ). This flight is run by the sole airline's Boeing 747-400, still in full passenger configuration, and it is a part of the 16-destination network OZ provides to Northeast Asia.

The aircraft, registered as HL7428, has been owned by OZ since the beginning of its operational life in 1999 and is configured in a 398-passenger configuration, including Economy, Business, and First Class seats.

Asiana Airlines operates a total fleet of 11 Boeing 747 aircraft. Four of the units are dedicated freighters, while the remaining seven have gradually been converted over the past 20 years to allow for freighter operations.

All OZ Boeing 747s remain in commercial service today.

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Korean Air

Korean Air (KE), the second-largest airline in South Korea by fleet size, has also chosen to rely on Jumbo Jet operations, but this time with the largest and most advanced version of the 747—the Boeing 747-8 passenger aircraft.

With nine aircraft out of a total fleet of 21, the flag carrier is the second largest of the three commercial operators of the passenger Boeing 747-8. The airline carries 368 passengers in a 3-class configuration on its Jumbos. The remaining Jumbos are set up to carry cargo.

If flying a KE Boeing 747 is in your plans, check flights originating at KE's hub in Seoul (ICN) that are bound for Atlanta (ATL), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), and Tokyo-Narita (NRT).

However, with the airline's reintroduction of the Airbus A380, it is unclear if some of these routes that are now operated by the Jumbo will be substituted by the Superjumbo.

Of the 10 A380s owned by the airline, it operates four on routes such as Seoul to Bangkok (BKK) or New York (JFK).

Lufthansa

With 23 units in service out of a total of 27, German flag carrier Lufthansa (LH) is by far the largest operator of the Boeing 747 in both the -400 and -8 variants. This is one of the strangest cases in today's aviation market: the airline is the only European flag carrier to fly multi-engine aircraft such as the Airbus A340 or the Boeing 747.

Differing from the standard airline fleet strategy, LH has decided to stick with old, inefficient aircraft after the pandemic, giving a great opportunity for aviation enthusiasts to experience the A340-300, the Boeing 747-400, and, in a few months, the Airbus A380, which LH will reintroduce into service.

Speaking about the older Boeing 747-400, LH operates a total of six of the eight aircraft owned by the carrier. The Jumbos can be seen flying from Frankfurt (FRA) to mostly Asian destinations such as Beijing (PEK), Bengaluru (BLR), Qingdao (TAO), Shanghai (PVG), or Seoul (ICN).

When we look at the passenger Boeing 747-8, of which the German carrier is the largest operator with 18 units in service, the airline uses them to connect FRA with Star Alliance hubs across the world such as Chicago (ORD), Johannesburg (JNB), Tokyo-Haneda (HND), or Singapore (SIN), among others.

Today, LH offers by far the widest selection of flights operated by Boeing 747 aircraft.

Mahan Air

It is well known that Iran is a true time machine country, whose airlines tend to operate old, second-hand, and retired airplanes from European and American airlines. The MD-80 family or the Airbus A300 come to mind. Iran also has Jumbos flying.

The largest airline in the country, Mahan Airlines (W5), operates a variety of passenger aircraft that are no longer found flying commercially in other parts of the world. Along with legendary types such as the A310, the A340, the Avro series, or the Fokker 50, W5 still owns three Jumbo Jets.

The particular thing about W5 is that, of the three Boeing 747s, two are the -400 series while the other one is the last-ever passenger Boeing 747-300 operated by an airline. The type is registered as EP-MNE and has been flying since 1986.

EP-MNE suffered an uncontained engine failure during takeoff in 2015. It was operating domestic flight IRM1095 from Mehrabad International Airport (THR) in Teheran to Bandar Abbas International Airport (BND) with 19 crew members and 422 passengers on board. Due to damage to its fuselage, the aircraft was retired from service.

In April 2021, W5 brought the world's oldest passenger Boeing 747-300, back into service, flying passengers between Teheran and Kish Island, a domestic route of one and a half hours.

Despite the fact that records show that the aircraft has not flown since 2022, with the 36.7-year-old showing its airframe status as stored on planespotters.net, W5 has not written off EP-MNE, and it is possible that it will return to service soon.

However, if you do want to experience a flight on board an Iranian Boeing 747-400, registration EP-MEE is flying exclusively the Tehran (IKA) to Moscow (SVO) connection on a daily basis as W598.

Rossiya Airlines

Another last chance to fly the Queen of the Skies in 2023 comes from Rossiya Airlines (FV), the second-largest Russian operator by fleet size and the sole operator of the Jumbo in Russia. This leisure airline, one of the oldest air carriers of the Russian Federation, is a member of the Aeroflot Group and flies travelers to vacation spots from Moscow (SVO) and St. Petersburg (LED).

Despite operating more than 100 narrow-body aircraft, such as the A320 and Boeing 737, as well as the domestically produced Sukhoi Superjet 100, FV still has a small fleet of heavy aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and 747-400. Of the last, the airline remains in possession of nine 20-year-old units.

One Jumbo, registration RA-73284 (ex-EI-XLD), features the "Caring for Tigers Together" particular scheme, with a tiger face on the nose of the Jumbo Jet.

Rossiya maintains its Boeing 747 fleets for just one purpose: The type serves as feeder aircraft for the busy route from Moscow (SVO) to Sochi (AER), laying off the coast of the Black Sea, during the summer high season with three daily flights.

The Jumbo planes are configured in an almost full-economy interior with a capacity of up to 522 passengers, meaning that the FV Boeing 747 can fly more than 3,000 passengers per day between SVO and AER during the summer. From October to March, the nine Jumbos sit idle on the ground in Moscow.

The vast majority of the 125 aircraft in FV's fleet is leased. Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FV planes were transferred to become registered in Russia so they could operate domestic flights without fear of being repossessed by lessors.

A Special Flight

Surprisingly, there is still a good chance that aviation enthusiasts will be able to board a Boeing 747 in 2023. If these six airlines remain with their route network and fleet, this would mean that next year a total of 40 aircraft will fly almost 30 routes worldwide. This is a great sign of relief for those who still have not felt what it is like to fly on the Jumbo Jet.

In actuality, the legendary Boeing 747 would have had a much more promising future in commercial passenger aviation if it weren't for the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, this 54-year-old aircraft has aged gracefully, responding almost perfectly to many aviation crises throughout its operational history and maintaining its rightful title of 'Queen of the Skies' for all time.

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Featured image: Lufthansa D-ABTK Boeing 747-400. Photo: Otto Kirchof/Airways