How many Boeing 747s are still in service?

The 747 was born as a passenger aircraft, but its nose door and full-section cargo hold made it the benchmark long-haul freighter. That's why, while passenger airlines retired their 747-400s after the pandemic, cargo carriers (Atlas Air, Cargolux, UPS, Cathay Cargo, Kalitta and Lufthansa Cargo) still operate active fleets of 747-400F, 747-400ERF and 747-8F aircraft. Of the roughly 400 units still flying, the vast majority carry freight, and that share grows every year.

Lufthansa is the largest passenger operator, with 747-8s and a few 747-400s on long-haul routes from Frankfurt. Korean Air and Air China keep 747-8 Intercontinentals, and a handful of 747-400s still fly with Rossiya, Mahan Air or Max Air. British Airways, Qantas, KLM, Cathay Pacific, United, Delta, Virgin Atlantic and Air France, which once each had dozens, no longer have any. Added to those are government aircraft, such as the US president's VC-25s, and a few special-use examples.

Boeing delivered the 1,574th and last 747, a 747-8F for Atlas Air, on 31 January 2023. That figure covers every series, from the 747-100 of 1969 to the 747-8. The two new presidential VC-25Bs, converted from unused 747-8 airframes, are still in conversion and will be among the last 747s to enter service. The newest freighters, less than fifteen years old, will keep flying well into the 2040s, so the 747 will disappear from airports long after it has disappeared from passenger cabins.