The top ten remaining operators of the Boeing 747

For some, an end of an era occurred this week when United Airlines flew their Boeing 747 for the last time.

United Airlines Boeing 747-400 at London Heathrow before it was retired – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

With Delta Air Lines fast behind them in withdrawing the type… who is left flying the type in passenger service?

Well there’s good news – or bad depending how you see it – with 194 Boeing 747 passenger aircraft left in the sky.

FlighGlobal has a lovely list here:

Flight Fleets Analyzer shows with @united retirements etc, active #B747 airline pax fleet has now dropped below 200 units (to 194), Top 10 as follows… @FlightGlobal pic.twitter.com/ydWZAiYf3l

— Max Kingsley-Jones (@MaxK_J) November 9, 2017

But let’s split this down by the Major Alliances (for those of you who want to redeem points on the Queen of the Skies). Because for some, spending points aboard this type of plane could be a good experience (unless you’re in Economy Class – then your mileage will vary).

Star Alliance

Lufthansa

One of the larger operators of the type, flying both Boeing 747-400 (13 aircraft) and 747-8 (19 aircraft).

Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i taxing at Frankfurt Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

Expect to see them in the air for some to come.

Air China

Air China operate a fleet of 12 Boeing 747s, split between six 747-400s and six 747-8i aircraft.

Thai Airways International

Thai Airways and its wonderful ever-changing “where are they deploying their fleet this week” operate 10 Boeing 747-400 aircraft in their fleet.

Oneworld

British Airways – currently the biggest passenger operator of the type have 36 Boeing 747-400 in their long haul fleet (and pretty much the backbone of it for some years to come).

British Airways Boeing 747-400 emerging from the fog at London Heathrow – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.

Qantas

The Spirit of Australia flies ten Boeing 747s, split between the 747-400 (with four aircraft) and the rarer 747-400ER (making up the other six).

SkyTeam

KLM

We’ll start with Royal Dutch Airlines, who operate a fleet of 14 Boeing 747-400 aircraft, with 11 of those being the Combi Passenger/Freighter type aircraft.

KLM Boeing 747-400M (Combi) at Chicago O’Hare – Image – Economy Class and Beyond

Korean Air

Another operator of new and old, who have ten Boeing 747-8i aircraft, and four more of the classic Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

Korean Airlines Boeing 747-400 approaching Chicago O’Hare – Image, Economy Class and beyond

Saudia

Saudi have a significant number in their fleet – with seven Boeing 747s in their fleet.

And the others

Virgin Atlantic

(I could lump Virgin Atlantic under SkyTeam, but some might disagree with that assessment). Virgin Atlantic have 8 Boeing 747 aircraft in their fleet.

Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 landing at Manchester Airport (along with a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 taxing) – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

Rossiya

And finally – the Russian Airline Rossiya who have a total of nine Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Just be careful which one you fly. They’ve got different three different seat maps.

Overall

Whilst the Boeing 747 may be a memory for US-based carriers, there are still plenty of opportunities over the next few years to log mileage on the queen of the skies.

And there’s plenty of chances to redeem your hard-earned miles or points, or spend actual hard cash on flying the Boeing 747.

Although like most redemptions – you may want to redeem in premium classes to enjoy the queen of the sky, rather than in economy class.

There’s life yet – and there will be some to come. But time for the 747-400 type will come soon, and the 747-8i aircraft – whilst new today, will be adding age each time they fly…

Inspiration for this post – Max Kingsley-Jones Tweet.
Data validated by airfleets.net
Images from the Economy Class and Beyond archive unless otherwise mentioned, and dragged from images that have appeared in the past on this blog.

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