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The Boeing 747-400, once a leading widebody aircraft for passenger and cargo operations, is now primarily used as a freighter. Originally developed after Boeing's unsuccessful bid to supply the United States Air Force with a large military transport, the commercial version of the 747 first entered service in 1970 with Pan Am. The 747-400 variant, introduced in the late 1980s, became one of the most popular versions due to its updated features such as winglets, improved engines, and advanced avionics.
Production of all Boeing 747 models ended in 2023 after nearly 1,500 units were delivered since its inception. Of these, Boeing built 694 examples of the -400 series. As of early 2025, industry data from ch-aviation shows that there are about 174 active Boeing 747-400s worldwide across various configurations including freighters and combi versions. Planespotters.net lists slightly higher numbers when accounting for parked aircraft and includes other variants like the newer 747-8.
A few major operators account for more than half of all remaining active aircraft. Atlas Air is currently the largest operator of both the Boeing 747 overall and specifically the -400 variant. According to Planespotters.net, Atlas Air has a fleet comprising around 48 Boeing 747-400s (including Dreamlifters) and operates a total of about 61 Jumbos when factoring in other variants. The company stated: "Our companies operate the world’s largest fleet of 747 freighter aircraft and provide customers the broadest array of Boeing 747, 777, 767 and 737 aircraft for domestic, regional and international cargo and passenger operations." Atlas Air further reported: "in 2024, we expanded our fleet with three additional Boeing 747-8 freighters." It also added two new Boeing 777s and four more -400Fs during that year.
