Korean Air will retire its Boeing 747 from the longest passenger route it operates, marking the end of an era for the iconic aircraft on its Seoul-to-Atlanta service. The move comes as part of the airline’s broader strategy to phase out the jumbo jet by 2031, replacing it with the more fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER.
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, the 7,153-mile route, the longest flown by the 747, will transition to the 777 in March 2025. The 777, while offering fewer seats—291 compared to the 747’s 368—could allow Korean Air to increase sales of premium cabins to compensate for the reduction in total seating capacity. The airline’s 777s flying to Atlanta typically feature a higher proportion of first and business class seats, catering to a lucrative market segment.
The Boeing 747, often dubbed the “Queen of the Skies,” has already begun to disappear from commercial airline fleets globally. Once the largest passenger aircraft, it has been increasingly replaced by newer, more fuel-efficient twin-engine jets such as the Boeing 777 and 787, as well as Airbus’s A350 and A330neo. While many airlines had already begun phasing out the 747 before the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis expedited retirements, with carriers such as British Airways, KLM, and Qantas making the transition to smaller, more cost-effective planes.
Despite its growing obsolescence, the 747 will remain in service with a select group of airlines. In 2025, only four carriers—Air China, Korean Air, Lufthansa, and Rossiya Airlines—will still operate passenger flights using the four-engine aircraft. As of 2024, these airlines are scheduled to operate approximately 19,000 747 flights, a significant decrease from nearly 76,000 in 2019.
For Korean Air, the phase-out of the 747 is already underway, with the airline selling five of its aircraft for $674 million earlier this year. While the 747 will be retired from the Seoul-to-Atlanta route, it will continue to serve flights to New York, Los Angeles, and Singapore for the time being.
The move to replace the 747 with the 777 on the Atlanta route follows a broader trend in aviation toward more flexible, efficient planes suited for smaller markets and point-to-point travel. The rise of long-haul narrow-body jets, such as the Airbus A321neo, further underscores this shift.
With the 747’s departure from the Atlanta route, Lufthansa will soon claim the title of operating the longest passenger 747 flight, with its 7,133-mile service from Frankfurt to Buenos Aires. This shift will leave Korean Air’s 747 flight between Seoul and New York as the second-longest, at 6,906 miles.
As the “Queen of the Skies” continues to be phased out, airlines like Lufthansa, which still operate a substantial fleet of 747s, are retrofitting their jets with new interiors. This investment signals continued demand for the aircraft on select long-haul routes, despite its declining role in the broader aviation market.
For the time being, the Boeing 747 remains a symbol of aviation history, with its last few years in service marking the end of an era as airlines increasingly turn to more efficient, flexible aircraft.
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