You Can Still Fly on Boeing 747s: How To Do It With Points

The Boeing 747, with its upper deck and graceful lines, holds a special charm for aviation lovers. Unfortunately, the airplane that ushered in the age of mass jet travel is also on its way to extinction. Superseded by jets that can fly as far, and with almost as many passengers, on just 2 engines rather than 4, the 747 has already vanished from many fleets.

Still, enthusiasts based in the U.S. have quite a few options left to fly this legendary aircraft from a nearby airport. Most 747 options even include a “real” first class, not just business.

Here’s an overview of surviving 747 routes from the U.S., and how you can book them using points and miles.

The Airlines Still Flying 747s From the U.S.

There are only 4 airlines left in the world flying the 747 on scheduled services: Air China, Korean Air, Lufthansa, and Rossiya. The latter is a Russian airline banned from North American airspace. The other 3 all serve the U.S., with flights from the East Coast, the West Coast, and points in between.

Lufthansa

Germany’s flag carrier is the largest operator of Boeing 747s worldwide, with 27 in the fleet. It’s also the airline with the most 747 flights from the U.S., connecting 8 airports with Frankfurt (FRA).

Most of Lufthansa’s jumbo jets are the newest 747-8 variant, the final production model 747. A longer fuselage and a stretched upper deck for more seating distinguish this jet. It’s also easy to spot: Look for a lack of upturned winglets at the end of the wings and scalloped engine covers.

Besides 19 of the 747-8 model, Lufthansa flies 7 of the 747-400 version, which used to be the most commonly found worldwide from the 1990s until 2020, when airlines grounded most of them for good due to the pandemic. You can tell -400s easily by their wedge-shaped winglets.

The most critical differences for passengers are inside. Lufthansa’s 747-8s have 8 first class seats and business class seats, while 747-400s only have business class seats.

The Lufthansa 747-8 can be found on the following flights to and from the U.S., as of June 2025:

• LH402/403 Frankfurt – Newark (EWR)
• LH430/431 Frankfurt – Chicago (ORD)
• LH440/441 Frankfurt – Houston (IAH)
• LH454/455 Frankfurt – San Francisco (SFO)
• LH456/457 Frankfurt – Los Angeles (LAX)
• LH462/463 Frankfurt – Miami (MIA)

Lufthansa’s first class on the 747-8 is a bit outdated, but it remains a competitive product in the North Atlantic market, mainly thanks to exceptional first-class-only lounges at the Frankfurt and Munich (MUC) airports.

In the air, it doesn’t offer the same level of privacy as Air France’s La Première first class, but for classic aviation-geek charm, you can’t beat being in the nose of a 747.

Unlike today’s best products, Lufthansa 747 business class doesn’t feature aisle access for all seats. That said, the 2-2 layout on the upper deck is perfect if you’re flying with a companion.

The Lufthansa 747-400 flies only on 2 U.S. routes, as of June 2025:

• LH400/401 Frankfurt – New York (JFK)
• LH418/419 Frankfurt – Washington, D.C. (IAD)

Unlike the 747-8, which Lufthansa will keep and refurbish with new seats, the -400 model will be phased out by 2028. The business class seats are exactly like the 747-8’s, but there are 4 rows with a middle seat.

Flying business class on Lufthansa’s 747s is easy with points and miles.

Miles & More, Lufthansa’s loyalty program, doesn’t have U.S. credit card transfer partners and isn’t popular on this side of the Atlantic. You can book Lufthansa business class instead via Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA Mileage Club, Asiana Club, Avianca LifeMiles, and United MileagePlus.

To fly first class on the 747-8, your first stop should be our primer on the best ways to book Lufthansa first class. If you’re looking for the cheapest mileage cost, Asiana Club might be your best bet. While you’ll still have to pay the surcharges, a one-way first class flight on Lufthansa is only 50,000 Asiana miles.

Partner bookings typically will only receive award inventory in first class around 2 weeks before departure, making planning in advance difficult. The only way to book Lufthansa first class more than 15 days before departure is to use Miles & More. You will need 7,000 miles in your account to search for award availability online. If you don’t have the required miles to search online, call Lufthansa’s U.S. customer service at 800-581-6400.

On all Lufthansa 747s, you’ll also find a separate premium economy class.

Korean Air

The flag carrier of South Korea is a close partner of Delta Air Lines, a fellow member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. It has just a handful of 747-8s, and it sends all 5 of them to the U.S., on the following flights:

• KE11/12 Seoul Incheon (ICN) – Los Angeles
• KE17/18 Seoul Incheon – Los Angeles
• KE35/36 Seoul Incheon – Atlanta (ATL)

Its 747s have 3 classes: a secluded first class in the nose and Prestige class (business) on the main and upper decks.

The bad news is that it’s hard to find seats on Korean Air using partner programs. You can get around this by booking through Korean Air’s SKYPASS program, and the easiest way to earn Korean Air miles is by spending on Marriott credit cards and transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to Korean Air at a 3:1 ratio.

When using partner programs, Korean business can be booked using the loyalty currencies of SkyTeam partner airlines, and the best among those is Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue. You can also use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.

The only option to fly Korean Air first class on points is to use SKYPASS.

Air China

The flag carrier of the People’s Republic of China has 7 jumbo jets left in its fleet. It has just 2 747-400s that rarely leave China; the rest are 747-8s that fly to the U.S., specifically on these flights as of June 2025:

• CA817/818 Beijing-Capital (PEK) – Washington-Dulles
• CA981/982 Beijing-Capital – New York (JFK)

Of all the 747s serving the U.S., these are probably the least attractive; Air China doesn’t enjoy a very good reputation for service in premium classes. Its 747-8s do, however, have first class, located unusually behind the business cabin. That business cabin is configured 2-2-2 (or 2-2 in the nose), like Lufthansa’s.

Booking Air China first class, as well as business, is among the ways you can redeem Avianca LifeMiles. That’s a better option than using Air China’s own PhoenixMiles, which have minimal utility for people based in the U.S.

Final Thoughts

With 747s on the way out, the few airlines still operating them have little incentive to install the latest products on their jumbo jets. But that’s not why one would want to fly the airplane whose size and iconic status defined an entire era of aviation. From the U.S., you have several options to get on a 747 using points, and you even have a lot of time left to do it: Lufthansa plans to fly its 747s into the next decade.