Only four airlines on Earth still fly the Boeing 747 with paying passengers, and knowing where they operate turns a dying dream into a very achievable trip. Production ended in 2023 after 1,574 aircraft were built since 1968, and the fuel-efficient twins that replaced the Queen of the Skies — the 787 and A350 — have pushed the jumbo to the margins of scheduled flying.
Your best odds are at Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa operates 25 passenger 747s — eight -400s and 17 of the newer -8s — and uses them multiple times a day from Terminal 1 on high-yield routes to Toronto, Vancouver, Bengaluru, Singapore, Boston and Houston. The airline's love affair with the type goes back to 1970, when it flew the first Lufthansa 747 from Frankfurt to New York, and it was the launch customer for the 747-8. There's even a special centennial-livery example worth hunting for. Lufthansa plans to retire its -400s by 2028 but will keep the -8s, so the window is real but not yet closing.
For something more exotic, look east. Rossiya Airlines, an Aeroflot subsidiary, flies high-density 522-seat 747-400s from Moscow Sheremetyevo to remote domestic points including Sochi, Khabarovsk and, most enticingly, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk — a trans-Siberian-length hop to Sakhalin Island in the Far East. Sanctions have scrambled fleet planning, and the airline reversed a planned 2024 retirement, so these flights continue for now, though nothing is guaranteed long-term.
Seoul Incheon is the most accessible option in East Asia. Korean Air keeps its 747-8s on premium long-haul flying — Los Angeles gets a daily visit — plus regional high-demand routes to Taipei and Tokyo. The fleet is already shrinking: five aircraft have been sold to the US government for conversion into military aircraft, and the airline has indicated it expects to keep the type until around 2031.
Air China rounds out the list, flying both -400s and -8s from Beijing Capital with no announced retirement date — arguably the most open-ended opportunity of all.
Why care? Because this is a closing window. No single airport sees scheduled passenger 747s from multiple airlines anymore, and aftermarket parts suppliers are now keeping the fleet alive without Boeing's support. If flying on the upper deck of a 747 is on your bucket list, Frankfurt and Seoul are the practical places to book; Moscow and Beijing are for the spotters after rarer sightings. Odd bonus: diversions can deliver surprises — two Lufthansa jumbos recently turned up unscheduled at Manchester.
