Lufthansa has eight Boeing 747-400s (code: 744) with an average age of 21.4 years. Some of the quadjets have been returning from storage ahead of their scheduled and anticipated return to service. All eight machines are due to be used again before being withdrawn and replaced by incoming Boeing 777-9s.
The German carrier expects to resume commercial B747-400 flights on October 31st, the first day of the northern hemisphere winter. As you’ll appreciate, this is liable to change, although Eurocontrol data from last week shows that Frankfurt was Europe’s fourth-busiest airport by total flights.
Lufthansa plans 11 B747-400 routes
Lufthansa expects 10 routes by the type from October 31st, with an 11th – to Seattle – due on March 27th, the start of summer 2022. All routes are bookable by the 744, all are from Frankfurt, and all are once-daily. If they all do take off on October 31st, the 744 will have 10 outbound flights that day, OAG shows, behind the A330-300 (13), A340-600 (14), and B747-8 (16).
At 5,322 miles, Frankfurt-Seoul is the longest route. In contrast, Frankfurt-Dubai (3,022 miles) is the shortest. LH630 is scheduled to depart Frankfurt at 13:30, arrive Dubai at 22:45, leave at 01:50, and arrive back in Germany at 05:45. It’ll compete directly with two daily A380 flights by Emirates.
Boston
Denver
Dubai
Miami
Mumbai
Orlando
Seattle (from March 27th)
Seoul
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington Dulles
And 16 routes by the B747-8
Lufthansa’s B747-8 fleet (code: 74H) comprises 19 examples, averaging 7.9 years. Across all carriers, there are just over 10,000 747 flights this year, with the 74H now the leading variant – mainly thanks to Lufthansa. The equipment has been used regularly through the pandemic.
Looking at the week starting October 31st, the following routes are expected. All are bookable, from Frankfurt, and once-daily. Some 12 of these 16 are already operated by the 74H, but Hong Kong, JFK, Singapore, and Tokyo are scheduled to see the variant from October 31st.
- Bangalore
- Buenos Aires
- Chicago
- Delhi
- Hong Kong
- Houston
- Johannesburg
- Los Angeles
- Mexico City
- New York JFK
- Newark
- San Francisco
- Sao Paulo
- Shanghai
- Singapore
- Tokyo Haneda
The mid-morning departures to North America will be fed by many arrivals from across Europe, along with Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Nairobi, Abuja, Lagos, Cairo, Dubai, Almaty, and more. It is a timely reminder of how connectivity is vital for us, including Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners.
Credit: Simple Flying
