Recent years have seen widebody quadjets such as the Boeing 747 become increasingly obsolete and fade into relative obscurity as airlines around the world favor more efficient twinjet aircraft for their long-haul operations. This was a phenomenon that was only exacerbated by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, when it comes to scheduled commercial passenger operations of aircraft from the Boeing 747 family, German flag carrier and Star Alliance founding member Lufthansa seems to be happy to be the exception to the rule. Today, the airline has almost 30 jumbo jets across two variants, keeping the 747's legacy alive.
Lufthansa's 747 Fleet In A Nutshell
Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 Landing In Toronto Lufthansa
According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, Lufthansa currently has 27 aircraft from the 747 family at its disposal. Of these, eight are examples of the older Boeing 747-400, with these aircraft clocking in at an average age of 25.5 years old (compared to a fleet-wide mean figure of just 13.7). Data from aeroLOPA shows that they have 67 business, 32 premium economy, and 272 economy seats.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa's remaining 19 jumbo jets are examples of the newer Boeing 747-8 model, which, consequently, have a much younger average age of just 11.9 years old. These four-class quadjets have eight seats in first class, 80 in business, 32 in premium economy, and 244 in economy, although changes are afoot as Lufthansa retrofits its jets with its new 'Allegris' interiors. The airline explained in March that:
"Since February, nine A350-900s with the new cabin interior have already been flying for Lufthansa, eight of them with the new First Class. Almost half a million passengers in all classes have now enjoyed the new cabin. This year, the retrofitting of the existing fleet with Lufthansa Allegris will commence, beginning with the Boeing 747-8."
Where Do The 747-8s Fly?
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 front close up shot Shutterstock
According to current scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Lufthansa has scheduled the same number of flights with the Boeing 747-8 in September 2025 as it did last year, namely 754. These services will offer combined totals of 274,456 seats and 1,450,461,376 ASMs.
While, as you would expect, the number of seats on these flights has also remained consistent year-on-year, this September's total amount of available seat miles for the Boeing 747-8 at Lufthansa is actually 3.9% lower than it was back in 2024 (1,509,751,880). This points to the carrier using it on shorter routes.
This September, the only route served by Lufthansa's 747-8s that doesn't see daily service is the transatlantic crossing from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to New York JFK, which has just 17 flights. Otherwise, the type flies every day from Frankfurt Airport to Buenos Aires, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Newark, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Tokyo Haneda, and Washington DC.
What About The 747-400's Routes?
Lufthansa Boeing 747 Taxiing Simple Flying
Meanwhile, when it comes to the Boeing 747-400, this aircraft type is actually seeing more action at Lufthansa this September than it was back in 2024. Indeed, the German flag carrier has penciled in 266 flights with the jet this month, offering 98,686 seats and 481,704,916 available seat miles in the process.
Compared to September 2024's totals of 254 flights, 94,234 seats, and 437,734,738 available seat miles, these figures represent respective annual increases of 4.7%. 4.7%, and 10%. Once again, Frankfurt Airport is the main German hub when it comes to Lufthansa's departures with the Boeing 747-400. Another similarity between it and the 747-8 is that New York is the only destination not served daily.
Indeed, the German airline has only penciled in 13 flights with the 747-400 on the route from Frankfurt to JFK this September, with these services falling on the days when the route is not served by the larger and more modern 747-400. As such, the two variants combine to serve the route on a daily basis between them. Elsewhere, Lufthansa flies the 747-400 daily to Bengaluru, Singapore, Toronto, and Vancouver.