Are you a Boeing 747 enthusiast? Here are all the cities where you can fly this winter with the 'Queen of the skies"

Europe is the continent where it is easiest to board a four-engine aircraft: in part thanks to Emirates, which flies its Airbus A380s to many destinations in the Old World and somewhat, despite himself it must be said, thanks to Lufthansa Which, due to delays in the delivery of the new Boeing 787 and 777X, it found itself having to extend the operational life of its Airbus A340s and Boeing 747s by several years.

More than the 90% of the passenger jumbos still circling the skies of the planet wears Lufthansa's shoes, which not only has newer 747-8s in its fleet (as do Air China and Korean, albeit with very small fleets), but also older 747-400s.

In short, if you are a fan of the 'Queen of the skies' and live in Europe you are in the right place to travel the world aboard your favorite airplane, Just drop by Frankfurt.

As all TFC readers know, Summer 2026 has just ended, giving way to Winter 2025-2026, so this is a good time to take stock of where Lufthansa has decided to fly its 747s (19 of the -8 series and 8 of the -400 series, all manned in Frankfurt) in the coming months.

The eight 747-400s remaining in service Have an average age of about 24 years, having been delivered at the turn of the late 1990s and the very early 2000s.

The pitch (i.e., distance between rows of seats) is 64 inches (162cm) and each seat has a 20-inch (51cm) seat and converts into a 78-inch (198cm) long bed. The 'telltale' of how dated this product is (besides the fact that most passengers do not enjoy direct aisle access) is the size of the IFE's screen, a mere 11.7 inches (i.e., smaller than that of many state-of-the-art premium economy).

Premium Economy (configured 2-4-2) offers 32 seats with a seat spacing of 38 inches and an IFE screen that is, surprisingly, the same as that of the Business: 11.7 inches. In the back, there are 272 seats of Economy (3-4-3) with a 31-inch pitch and a 9-inch IFE screen.

In the Winter that has just begun, Lufthansa will bring this product to Delhi and Bangalore (flights of about 8 hours, it fits) in India as well as in Shanghai and Singapore, destinations that, given the journey time of over twelve hours (and the 'nobility' of Singapore as to destination) would perhaps have merited a less dated aircraft than the 747-400. But so be it.... the 747 enthusiast will have more time to enjoy his 'queen of the skies'.

As for, however, the much newer (but not much better equipped, interior-wise, even if they have a cabin of First) 747-8, will fly from Frankfurt to 13 destinations on four continents in the coming months: New York JFK (from Jan. 12, 2026), Newark, Washington, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco North America: Mexico City, São Paulo and Buenos Aires Latin America; Tokyo (Haneda) and Bangalore (but only on some dates in November) in Asia; Johannesburg Africa.

The interior of the -8 is four-class, with a section of First in the 'nose' where the first two rows are 1-1 and the third 1-2-1. First's eight (open) suites are 'regal as to size, though dated compared to other products in a similar category: seat width is 30.5 inches (77cm), seat spacing an impressive 83 inches (211cm), and bed length 81 inches (206cm). The only thing that is jarring (given also the distance between the backrest and the video, is the size of the IFe's screen, which is only 17 inches (i.e., that of an 'average' contemporary business class).

The seats in Business are a beauty of 80 arranged also here in three different cabins: 36 immediately behind First and 12 in a small cabin located behind the staircase going up to the upper deck in a 2-2-2 configuration and 32 on the upper deck with four seats per row (2-2).

The seats in Business Class, Premium Economy (32) and Economy (244) are identical in design and features to those on the 747-400, proving that with the -8 you are flying a machine that is newer and more technologically advanced, but with the same level of comfort as the -400s that are twice as old.

Then if the 'European 747s' were not enough for you, know that in Winter 2025 and 2026 Air China will connect with its five 747-8s Four-class (with 12 seats in First, 54 in Economy, 66 in Premium Economy and 233 in Economy) Beijing with Guangzhou, Shanghai, New York (JFK) and Washington, D.C..

While Korean Air will bring its five 747-8s. Three-class (with 6 seats in First, 48 in Business and 314 in Economy) in Los Angeles, Hong Kong (but only on some dates in November) in Atlanta November 10 and 11 and in Taipei in half a dozen dates scattered between December and January 2026.

Happy Jumbo to all!

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• queen of the skies