Why only four airlines still fly passenger Boeing 747 jets

All these airlines face challenges with replacing their aging fleets due to delays in new widebody aircraft deliveries from Airbus and Boeing. Korean Air has sold five of its Boeing 747-8s to Sierra Nevada Corporation for use by the U.S. military as replacements for E-4B “doomsday” planes. Despite wanting to phase out both A380s and older quad-engine jets like the 747-8, CEO Walter Cho said, “we are short by about 20 aircraft per manufacturer. That’s why the older A380s and 747-8s and the very old 777s are still flying (...). That’s why we have not retired them yet.” He added, “as soon as we get new airplanes, as soon as the next opportunity comes, those two [A380s and 747s] will be phased out.”

Lufthansa is also awaiting delivery of replacement widebodies before retiring its remaining quad-engine jets. The airline has orders for Airbus A350-900/1000s, Boeing 787-9s, and will be launch customer for the delayed Boeing 777-9 in late 2026. Certification issues with new seating configurations have held up some deliveries.

Air China has not placed recent orders for new widebody aircraft amid ongoing trade tensions between China and the United States. Reuters reported in November 2024 that Air China is expected to be launch customer for China’s domestically produced COMAC C929 widebody jet.

Although only a handful of airlines continue scheduled passenger flights with the Boeing 747, several others use it for VIP transport—such as Bahrain Royal Flight or Dubai Air Wing—or have converted former passenger models into freighters. In total, approximately 424 Boeing 747 family aircraft remain active globally—most serving cargo operators like Atlas Air or UPS Airlines.

Major global airlines began retiring their passenger Boeing 747 fleets over a decade ago: Japan Airlines did so in 2011; Air France in 2016; Delta Air Lines and United Airlines followed in 2017; British Airways retired all its units during the pandemic in 2020.

Among those still operating scheduled services with passenger-configured Boeing 747-8 aircraft are only three original customers: Lufthansa (19 delivered), Korean Air (10 delivered), and Air China (seven delivered). While more than half were delivered as freighters rather than passenger variants—over one hundred compared to forty-eight—the model remains versatile across military, business jet, cargo, and VIP roles.

As newer widebody jets become available over this decade, industry observers expect Lufthansa will likely be among the last scheduled carriers operating any version of the Jumbo Jet into at least the early-to-mid-2030s.