The Boeing 747 is now a rarity: where (and with what companies) can you fly from Europe on the legendary Jumbo
Production of the Boeing 747 ended on January 31, 2023, a year ago, when the last example built at the plant [...]
Lufthansa
Korean Air
Air China
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
PEK
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La Boeing 747 production ended on January 31, 2023, a year ago, when the last specimen built at the Everett plant, a 747-8F (Freighter, i.e., Cargo) was delivered to the American Atlas Air. It had been just over 53 years since the delivery of the first Jumbo to an airline, which took place on January 15, 1970 at Pan Am.
Production of the 747 has accompanied just under half the years since the Wright brothers flew the first plane in 1903. And only the Boeing 737 program, which began in 1967 and is still active today, has had a longer life than that of the 747.
Today, however, Boeing 747s in passenger service are a rarity, much more so than the Airbus A380s. In fact, almost all 747s of the -200 and -400 series have been dismantled or converted to freighters.
E the last version of the legendary Jumbo (the 747-8) had very little appeal to passenger airlines, to the extent that only three have purchased it: Lufthansa He took 19 specimens, Korean Air 9 e Air China 6. Lufthansa is also the only airline in the world to use the 747-400 in the passenger version, of which it has eight in its fleet.
Flying with the 'Queen of the skies' is An experience that is therefore becoming increasingly 'difficult'. From Europe, the greatest opportunities are, of course, by flying with Lufthansa. His eight 747-400s are configured with three classes of service For 371 seats, including 67 in Business (with 2+2 rows in the front nose and upper deck and 2+3+2 on the main deck), 32 in Premium Economy (2+4+2) e 272 in Economy (3+4+3). The nineteen 747-8s Instead, they also have First and four classes of service for a total of 364 places. Of these, 8 are in First In the front muzzle, 80 in Business (with file 2+2+2), 32 in Premium Economy (2+4+2) e 244 in Economy (3+4+2).
In First the seat is an authentic 'throne', with its nearly 78 centimeters of seating and 206 centimeters of length when in lie-flat configuration; the distance between the rows is a whopping 211 centimeters while the 17-inch TV screen is decidedly small when compared with those of other companies' Firsts. In Business the seats are 51 centimeters wide and turn into 198-centimeter-long beds with an 11.7-inch TV screen while the distance between rows is 162 centimeters; in Premium Economy the seat is 48 centimeters, the TV screen is 11.7 inches, and the distance between rows is 99 centimeters; in Economy, the seat is 44 centimeters wide and has a 9-inch screen, while the distance between the seats is 79 centimeters.
The German company's winter schedule says. all 747s are based in Frankfurt (none at the other Munich hub).
The 747-400 is used to 6 destinations: Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore India (both daily flights), New York JFK (daily), Seoul (daily) and Chicago (Feb. 1-29), while a Boeing 787-9 has been flying on the connection to Vancouver since Nov. 15.
Instead, the 747-8 is used to 13 destinations: Buenos Aires (daily), Chicago (as of March 1) Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Newark, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.. All daily flights.
Korean Air's 747-8s are configured in three classes for 368 places. Of these 6 are in First, 48 in Business and 314 in Economy. First Class Suites, equipped with a sliding door, have a seat that with the armrests down is a beauty of 81 centimeters wide and can be transformed into a 211-centimeter-long bed. The TV screen is one of the largest available on a commercial aircraft, at 34 inches; the Business Class is in a 2+2+2 configuration, but with 'open suites' that all provide access to the hallway, each has a 53-centimeter-wide seat that converts to a 183-centimeter bed and a 17-inch TV screen; in Economy, each row has 10 seats (3+4+3) with 46-centimeter-wide seats and 10.6-inch TV screens, while the 84-centimeter spacing between rows is decidedly generous. (Photo Kiefer. from Frankfurt, Germany - Korean Air HL-7630 Boeing 747-8, 04.Sep.2015 FRA, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45884526).
From Europe, it is only possible to board a Korean Air jumbo at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport, where the Asian company flies daily.
I Air China's six 747-8s are configured in four classes with a total of 365 seats. Of these 12 are in First, 54 in Business, 66 in Premium Economy and 233 in Economy. The 12 suites of First have a 67-centimeter-wide seat that converts into a 211-centimeter bed; in Business the seat is 53 centimeters and the distance between rows is 152 centimeters, but the beds are not lie-flat; in Economy, the seat is 46 centimeters and the row spacing is 79 centimeters. (Photo byeangel from Tsingtao, China - B-2485 | Air China | Boeing 747-89L | PEK, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39729637).
In Europe, it is only possible to board an Air China 747-8 from Frankfurt, four times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) with destination Beijing.
In contrast, the three 747-400s of the Chinese flag carrier still remaining in service are used only on routes within China.
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