Lufthansa Still flies 747s

Aviation General Aviation
1

As I live on a Heathrow flightpath I see a lot of aircraft activity. Since the pandemic eased I am seeing quite a few 380s flying again but few 747s.

Oddly seems Lufthansa (according to the following link) opted to retire their 380s and continue with 8 747-400s.

Bearing in mind most quad jet operators went for retiring the 747 and 380s at the time of mass lockdown I wonder why a major European airline is staying with the 747 and ceasing operation of the 380. They seem to be alone in this decision. Obviously financial but wonder why Lufthansa have bucked the trend.

Geoff

2

The 747-400 probably matches the passenger load (416) compared to the A380-800 (525). Aitlines do not like to fly with empty seats.

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3

They are also bringing back their A380’s into service, only the oldest 3 A380’s remain stored at this time :wink:

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4

Yeah, Luthansa has two A380s flying Munich > Boston & New York on a daily basis now. They have plans to bring a few more back. Not sure their thinking on the 747. I flew one of their 747-400s during Christmas last year. The interior was really worn out, not a great experience overall.

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5

Yes, guess so, accountants look on empty seats as money lost rather than merely not used.

Geoff

6

I’ve loved my trips on BA 747s. The route LHR to San Diego normally flown previously by 777s getting a 747 was a magical experience, especially as I got a complimentary business upgrade.

They now use A350s - nice aircraft.

Geoff

7

upper deck on 747 is hard to beat!

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8

Before I retired in the 1990’s, I frequently flew TPA-HNL and TPA-FRA. The 747 was my favorite commercial jet. My favorite was and still is the Falcon 50 and its progeny.

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9

I didn’t have an upper deck seat but as I was upgraded to business I was allowed upstairs to have a look.

Geoff

10

Lufthansa announced having more routes with reactivated A380 in summer 2024

image

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