The Boeing 747 is one of the most iconic passenger jets ever made. With its huge size and partial upper deck, it is one of the most recognizable planes to come out of the airline industry, and its widebodydesign revolutionized aviation. However, today the industry has moved past the 747, and its size, once seen as game-changing, is now viewed as a liability by many carriers, and its four engines make it far thirstier than modern widebodies. Today, fewer than 100 are still carrying passengers.
This means that very few city pairs see the iconic 'jumbo jet,' and, of these routes, the majority are long-distance corridors traversing oceans and continents. For enthusiasts, this means that tickets to travel on this once ubiquitous double-decker are expensive. However, there are a handful of 747 routes that are short, meaning that tickets are cheaper. Using data from Cirium, an aviation data analytics company, here are the world's seven shortest Boeing 747 routes this summer.
7 Frankfurt To Newark - Lufthansa
3,363 NM (6,228 km)
A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 parked at a gate at Frankfurt Airport.
Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock
Lufthansa is the largest passenger operator of the Boeing 747 worldwide, and it has a fleet of eight 747-400s and 19 747-8s. All of these aircraft are based out of Frankfurt, and although Lufthansa doesn't fly such planes on routes that would be considered short-haul, the first three entries are its shortest 747 routes. It serves Newark Airport with a daily 747-8 this summer.
Although the 747-8 is larger than the 747-400, Lufthansa uses this aircraft to offer huge amounts of premium seating. As such, it seats fewer passengers than Lufthansa's 747-400, as it is configured with 8 first class suites, 80 business class flatbeds, 32 premium economy recliners, and 244 in economy. This comes out to a total of 364 seats, compared to the three-class 747-400's figure of 371.
Unlike its seven-abreast 747-400s, Lufthansa configures its 747-8s to have six-abreast in main-deck business class. All 19 747-8s will receive the new 'Allegris' cabins, but in a rather bizarre procedure. Initially, only the main deck business class cabin will be refurbished. The upper deck business cabin, as well as the first, premium economy, and economy cabins, will be retrofitted later in the decade.
6 Frankfurt To New York JFK - Lufthansa
3,350.8 NM (6,205.3 km)
Lufthansa 747-400 shutterstock_1543144853
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
New York JFK is one of Lufthansa's most important transatlantic destinations. This summer, Lufthansa will operate two daily flights to JFK from Frankfurt, along with a daily Airbus A380 from Munich. LH404 uses the Airbus A340-300, while Lufthansa schedules the Boeing 747 to operate LH400. This summer, it will specifically use the 747-400 model for this flight.
Lufthansa is planning to withdraw its 747-400 fleet by 2028, and, this winter, the JFK route will switch to double daily Airbus A340s. In the long term, the Boeing 777-9 is intended to replace the 747-400, and it's quite likely that this will be one of its initial routes, given the importance and competitiveness of the New York market.
Aircraft Number on order Aircraft being replaced
Airbus A350-900 24 Airbus A330-300, Airbus A340-300
Airbus A350-1000 15 Airbus A340-600
Boeing 777-9 20 Airbus A380-800, Boeing 747-400
Boeing 787-9 36 Airbus A330-300, Airbus A340-300
On the route to JFK, Lufthansa competes against leisure carrier Condor with its daily Airbus A330-900 flights. While Condor markets itself as a leisure airline, its onboard product is quite competitive. This is especially notable in business class, as Condor offers direct aisle access suites compared to Lufthansa's outdated seven-abreast seats. Furthermore, Singapore Airlines also operates this route with a daily Boeing 777-300ER, as a fifth freedom route.
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5 Frankfurt To Boston - Lufthansa
3,189 NM (5,906 km)
Lufthansa 747-400 taking off
Photo: Jaap van den Berg 3665 | Shutterstock
Although Boston is not a major Star Alliance hub, Lufthansa has long served this historic city. This is one of its largest US destinations, and has service from both Frankfurt as well as Munich, with an daily Airbus A380. From Frankfurt meanwhile, Lufthansa is operating two daily flights this summer. LH420 uses an Airbus A340-300, while LH422 uses the Boeing 747-400.
Lufthansa configures its 747-400s to seat 371 passengers in a three-class configuration. There are 67 business class seats arranged seven-abreast on the main deck, and four abreast on the upper deck. This is joined by 32 recliners for premium economy, and 272 economy seats. Notably, these aircraft don't have first class, the largest aircraft in the carrier's fleet to omit it.
Lufthansa once operated 30 Boeing 747-400s, coded as the 747-430, and all of these aircraft are equipped with four General Electric CF6 turbofans. Five of these aircraft were parked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the rest were retired much earlier. Lufthansa mainly uses these planes for routes with extremely high demand, but with less business demand compared to routes using the 747-8.
4 Beijing To Shenzhen - Air China
1,053 NM (1,950.5 km)
Air China Boeing 747-8 (1) shutterstock_2360214429
Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock
Air China is one of just three passenger operators of the Boeing 747-8, alongside Lufthansa and Korean Air. Alongside its seven 747-8s, the carrier also flies two 747-400s. The 747-400s exclusively fly domestic routes, whereas the 747-8 is also operated internationally. Additionally, two of Air China's 747-8s are used as transports for high-ranking government officials.
Air China operates between 12 and 15 flights every day between Beijing Capital Airport and Shenzhen. Shenzhen is part of the Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region, a megapolis that also includes Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau, among many other cities. This 'megacity' is one of the busiest areas of economic activity in the entire world.
Air China's overall fleet Number of aircraft
Airbus A319-100 24
Airbus A320-200 38
Airbus A321-200 61
Airbus A320neo 53
Airbus A321neo 30
Boeing 737-700 18
Boeing 737-800 87
Boeing 737 MAX 8 26
COMAC C909 35
COMAC C919 3
Airbus A330-200 16
Airbus A330-300 28
Airbus A350-900 30
Boeing 747-400 2
Boeing 747-8 7
Boeing 777-300ER 28
Boeing 787-9 14
Total 500
As is typical with busy domestic routes in China, Air China schedules a wide variety of widebody aircraft types, including both variants of the Boeing 747. However, the 747 is by far the least common aircraft type on this route, as the Airbus A330-300, Airbus A350-900, and Boeing 777-300ER are much more common. This route also sees flights operated by the A321-200, A330-200, and 787-9.
3 Beijing To Guangzhou - Air China
1,012.4 NM (1,875 km)
Air China 747-8 taxiing
Photo: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the busiest airport in China. It serves as a hub for China Southern and is also the country's second busiest cargo hub, behind Shanghai-Pudong. Given its importance, Air China schedules upwards of 13 daily flights from its primary hub in Beijing Capital to Guangzhou.
As is common in China, the carrier primarily uses twin-aisle aircraft to serve this route, and it deploys Airbus A330s, Airbus A350s, Boeing 777s, Boeing 787s, and the 747. Due to huge passenger and cargo demand, Air China can use widebody aircraft while also maintaining high flight frequencies.
Air China schedules several different aircraft types to operate different flights on different days, with seemingly little in the way of regular patterns. Both the 747-400 and the 747-8 appear on this route, where flights usually take around three hours and are scheduled practically every hour.
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2 Moscow To Sochi - Rossiya Airlines
759.5 NM (1,406.6 km)
Rossiya 747-400 landing
Photo: Fasttailwind I Shutterstock
Rossiya Airlinesis a subsidiary of Aeroflot, and one of Russia's largest airlines. Due to current sanctions, it primarily operates within Russia, along with all other Russian carriers. In its fleet of 136 airliners, Rossiya owns and operates eight Boeing 747-400s.
All of its 747s fly in a high-density layout with 522 seats. This consists of 510 economy seats that take up the entirety of the lower deck, and 12 angled-flat seats for business class on the upper deck. The upper deck also features 27 economy seats, and all seats feature in-flight entertainment.
Sochi is the most popular holiday destination in Russia, and, as such, it makes sense that airlines will schedule huge amounts of capacity between Sochi and Moscow, Russia's largest city. As Russian airlines are largely restricted from international services, they therefore need to focus more on domestic flying at present.
1 Beijing To Shanghai - Air China
597.6 NM (1,073.4 km)
Air China Boeing 747-400 B-2472 passenger plane with chinese president onboard landing at Hamburg Airport for G20 summit_16_9
Photo: Soos Jozsef | Shutterstock
Beijing is the capital of China, while Shanghai was, until recently, the largest city in the country. There is huge business demand, huge numbers of tourists, and huge numbers of passengers traveling to visit family. This is, therefore, the busiest route within China, despite only seeing service from three airlines.
Air China's 747s don't fly to Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, the city's most prominent airfield. Here, Air China only flies up to two daily flights. Rather, it focuses on serving Hongqiao Airport, where it operates over a dozen daily flights from Beijing Capital Airport. These flights are primarily operated by widebody aircraft, including both variants of the 747.
Air China configures its 747-400s with 344 seats and the 747-8s with 365 seats. The older 747-400s feature 10 first class suites, 42 business class flatbeds, and 292 economy seats. The 747-8s, meanwhile, have 12 first class suites, 54 flatbeds for business class, 66 premium economy recliners, and 233 seats in economy.