Lufthansa Wants to Upgrade Their Passenger 747s

The ‘Queen of the Skies’ lives on, beloved by all. May she fly for many years to come.

The 747 is my all time favourite aircraft. I flew the Virgin fleet from when they first got them, until they recently retired them. I rue the day they did that. None of the 'replacements' that they - or amy of the other airlines - have adopted, hold a candle to 747 in every respect from ride to general comfort. Bravo to Lufthansa for bucking the trend and keeping these magnificent machines in the sky, hauling happy passengers around the globe ...

Yes the 'heavys' were loved by all. More efficient engines would keep them price competitive

Had many trips on the 747, with two truly memorable ones. On a BA flight from LHR to ANC in the early 80s, my young daughter and I were invited up to the flight deck. While I chatted with the flight engineer, the captain sat my daughter down in his seat and had her make a course correction somewhere over the high Arctic. The other trip was in 1978 when my wife and I took advantage of PanAm's $999 Around-the World standby offer. While most of the flights were on 747s, the route also included 707s and 727s. Those were the days!

I have flown on Lufthansa's 747-8's many times in all different classes of service. It's an excellent product all the way around with typical German efficiency and professionalism from their crews. I prefer the 747 over water and seek carriers that use it.

My first flight ever was a 747 in 1972; SFO to ORD. Lounges in coach was still a thing and I’ll never forget that first flight. Years later I would fly business in the bubble and loved the canted windows and huge luggage compartments next to the windows.

Boeing? What happened?

I have shared my life for 21 years with this wonderful aircraft. Prolonging his active life fills me with joy. Thank you beloved "big nose"
Alberto C. former Alitalia F.E.

Love the 747 and love flying Lufthansa. Sadly, my points tie me to Delta which pales in comparison. I would love to fly the747 again.

Flew in a 747 from Newark to Chicago back in 85 ish......the plane was almost empty....just needed to get to Chicago I guess......I was fascinated ......never got to fly in another one. Amazing to watch them take off and land. So sad to see them go away.

Thumbs up for Lufthansa airlines, keep em flying ...

Yay!

I finally got to ride in a 747 from Los Angeles to Amsterdam in 2019, on KLM. Since it was my first trip in one (in 50 years of flying), I splurged for seat 1A. Heavenly! I'll have to book a trip to Germany.

Air France could have done the same, and its passengers would have loved it too, but DLH did it and it's one of the reasons why it will continue to outperform AF....

I was privileged to experience 10 JFK to LHR and back (round trips) on the queen. Eight on business, once on vacation and once to get married in London. 1978 thru 1983. Pan-Am, TWA and British Air. Enjoyed every minute of every flight. Love that aircraft.

Just a magnificent aircraft in all respects.

Hey, I got to fly the 747-100s that PAA had transferred from the Pacific runs to Africa in 1978-80. company policy permitted first class seating on coastal flights. Flew several times to NY-DAK-ROB-ABJ and all along the West African coast. While living in Monrovia hung out with the crews laying over at the Cooper Beach hotel resort, (due to duty hours), where they would pick up the next flight in the series and go on to Nairobi (or back to NY). great times. And while I commented that the African run must be a punishment, they said it was one of the highest bid trips. Think of living in NYC in Feb (snow and cold), fly 8-10 hours to ROB, lay on the beach for a day or two, take the next plane to Nairobi, lay about a day or so, then do the return, again laying over in ROB or DAK - all in the tropics. Then off for two weeks, and then repeat.

That's one Boeing frame I never got a ride on. Maybe there is hope as I have reasons to travel to Europe from time to time

I do not understand why any airline was willing to buy the airbus product when 747 s were and are available. The iconic 747 is beautiful while the 380 is a London double deck bus disguised as an airplance

My favorite 747 flight was on an Air New Zealand -200 in July 1994 on a flight from LA to Auckland with intermediate stops in Papeete and Rarotonga (and maybe one more place). I had been upgraded to 1st which occupied the entire upper deck with, I think, 12 seats. We had our own galley and two FA's looking after only us plus the flight deck. The food was incredible as was the wine. This was before lie-flat beds but when you were ready to sleep the FA would put down sheepskin for you to sleep on. Those were the days!

I have loved the Jumbo 747 ever since I met. I drew it when I was little (7 years old), then I made a wooden model. I remember the film Airport 1977, where he was submerged. My first trip was for Student Exchange in Braniff, a Jumbo 747 all orange, Buenos Aires-Los Angeles.
I remember, Buenos Aires-Sao Paulo-LAX on Varig, and in First Class on Japan AIrlines 1995 LAX-Tokyo.
For work, often at British EZE-Heathrow and from there to Bareheim and Bombay.
Forever, it will be the Jumbo!!!

I was attending an aerospace college in Inglewood, CA in 69-70 and saw some of the earliest 747 landings at LAX. A few of us wandered over to the hanger area one evening and were given a tour of plane being prepped for the next day.
My most memorable flight on a 747 was returning from Viet Nam in the spring of 72. Troops were being put on any available seat on commercial flights as well as military charters. I got a 1st class seat on a Pan Am 747 from Saigon to Honolulu. The flight was special for all the right reasons.

The best flight I've ever had was on Lufthansa's upper deck first class. It was a 10 hour flight that I didn't want to end! I love the 747's & hate that they are going away.

She is the queen of the skies! I had the privilege of flying on one as my first airline experience back in 1977. A group of 234 of us chartered passage on PanAm flight number 1 around the world, as we were going from Toronto to Delhi. But on the day of departure, there was an ATC strike in Canada, so we were bussed from Toronto to Niagara Falls NY, where the FAA had to give special permission to land a 747 there. It took about 3 hours to hand load our baggage as no facilities for a 747 were at that airport. So we were boarded and 3 of us had just gotten our pilot's licenses and we asked the captain if we could have a tour of the flight deck.

He was generous and gave us the tour and we chit chatted some while waiting for the baggage. Then we were all told to sit as far forward as possible, and I got to being in 1st class, and wow, he did a short field take off - clamping the brakes and getting engines up to full power - and then release - you were slammed back into the seat and it felt like a rocket. (he had just enough fuel to get to JFK plus reserve so it was really light)

Anyway, 33 hours on that plane - JFK, then Heathrow, then Frankfurt, then Tehran (very scary), then Delhi. It was great because we were almost all the people on that plane, so people would get up and play cards or whatever so you could lay down across 5 seats and snooze - quite the experience to have a group of people basically taking over the whole plane....

I've flown on 747's half a dozen times since, but nothing compared to that first one with 234 of us on PanAm #1 around the world. (it's way more fun when you know everyone on the flight)

In the 1980s my sister was a FA at NWA and flew on dozens or more 747s. It was her favorite aircraft. She'd volunteered to crew the flights to carry soldiers to and home from the war, and the configuration made those flights far more do-able than other aircraft.

I love the 747 and am very sorry that there are not many flying anymore.
However, I really loved flying on a L-1011, just fantastic

I think that in the latter years of the 747's lifetime, perhaps an engine upgrade to more fuel and noise-efficient engines would have prolonged the inevitable. I can see why so many of them are used in cargo traffic these days, because the cost of shipping is easier to justify than in passenger configurations.

Flew the 747-400 four times (twice with Philippine Airlines, twice with Korean Air), and worked (handled) several 747-200's cargo aircraft while employed as a ramp agent for Integrated Airline Services at KIAH in 1999, companies included Martinair, Air China, Cargolux and Atlas Air. But my very first "jumbo" aircraft flown was the Delta Tri-Star L-1011. All are excellent birds and will be missed.

In 4 weeks I am off to FRA from SFO on Lufthansa 747-8. Upper deck makes you feel like you are on a private plane!! I choose them over United because I like the 747. I once flew on their 747 combi. Got a tour of the back half of the plane where there were 2 cars and horses on the way back to Saudi Arabia.

I hadn't realised just how priviledged I'd been to fly on Virgin's 747s for all those years from the UK to Florida and Las Vegas, but looking at the comments from people here who only flew them once or twice, clearly I was. I remember seeing Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden who is licensed to fly the 747, saying in an interview that it was just the most well behaved aircraft in the world to fly. I also watched a 'recycling' show where they were sadly tearing one to pieces, and they spoke to a retired pilot who said that it was the most forgiving aircraft he ever flew, and if there were ever any in-flight issues, you always felt that the aircraft was trying to help and never fighting you ...

BRING THEM BACK!
BRING THEM BACK!
BRING THEM BACK!

Just the greatest!

Flew Lufthansa's 47-8 last May business on the upper deck, Munich to LAX, in the last row both seats :) with a broken bathroom behind \, so everyone went forward. Better then the A380 in First a few years back !

They used to say the top bulge on the 747 fuselage was so the Lufthansa pilot could sit on his wallet.

If the economics work for a commercial or cargo carrier, then by all means, keep the Queen aloft! Boeing had to acknowledge supply & demand vs. labor/assembly facilities costs with their decision to terminate the program, and I respect that. The 777x is more versatile as their largest a/c offering - and certainly for cargo it will be in-demand for many decades once it finally launches.

My wife and I flew the 747 on American from MIA to EZE in 1995 an got upgraded to business class 'upstairs'. We were recently married and had never flown in anything other than coach. We had never experienced that level of luxury and were giggling like schoolchildren. It was an unforgettable experience! Last year we flew back from FRA to MCO on Lufthansa and got to walk around the 747 and board from the tarmac. It is so much more impressive to approach this beautiful plane from the outside. Loved Lufthansa but Business class is downstairs.

In the 80's I flew Sydney to Auckland on a Qantas 747. I had booked economy, but was upgraded to UPSTAIRS...WOW! My only disappointment, it was only a 2 hour flight, and I had to get off at Auckland.

I flew the 747 probably 100 times on British Airways and always loved it but perhaps my most unusual flight was shortly before the pandemic lockdown. I had flown JAL from SFO to Haneda (777) and then a few days later some ANA plane to Okinawa. I love JAL. The ANA flight was 3½ hours with no food. After I completed my business in Okinawa I flew on to Taipei from Naha on China Airlines (a fine airline but sadly not part of the OneWorld Alliance). The 59-minute flight to Taipei was on a 747 and I think all economy class. There must have been 500 passengers on the flight. I was seated near the rear of the plane and during that short flight I received a hot meal! Now that's a great airline.

When I flew to Greece via Frankfurt in 2018 the first leg was on a Lufthansa 747-400 which was my first 747 flight in over 20 years (the previous time I was on a way to visit my then girlfriend, now wife) and I'd forgotten how much better it is. Even the 777 doesn't come close to the comfort of flying the 747 and I'd love to fly one again but sadly Lufthansa mostly flys the A330 on the SEA-FRA route these days.

I love Lufthansa!!