Lufthansa Trims Its Boeing 747-400 Network To 2 Routes In February

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After a quiet return to service in October, Lufthansa uses its B747-400s on a small selection of routes from its Frankfurt hub. Due to airline-wide flight cuts in the early New Year, its B747-400 network will reduce to two in February: Delhi and Dubai.

Lufthansa, Boeing 747-400, Return
Lufthansa’s B747-400s have 371 seats, with 67 in business, 32 in premium economy, and 272 in economy. Photo: Oliver Rösler via Lufthansa.

What’s happening?

Lufthansa has just 98 B747-400 flights planned for February, over a third (37%) fewer than in January and 43% fewer than in December. It’s part of a broader cut in services, with the German carrier removing about 2,600 flights in February – one in three – due to the fallout from Omicron.

One consequence is that Lufthansa’s B747-400 network will reduce to just two destinations, according to Cirium data and confirmed in Lufthansa’s booking engine. In February, only Delhi and Dubai will see the type. It won’t be used to New York JFK, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, or Shenyang, which were served in January. However, it’s only temporary, with March set to be a much better month.

Lufthansa has eight B747-400s, with six active. They’re the airline’s highest-density aircraft. After returning to service in October after an 18-month absence, the B747-400 was deployed to six cities in November. Lufthansa joins Asiana, Atlas Air, and Rossiya in operating scheduled or charter passenger B747-400 services.

Lufthansa's B747-400 flights (1)
December, January, and February are Omicron-induced blips. Source of data: Cirium.

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Only Delhi and Dubai will see the B747-400

Delhi and Dubai will be exclusively by the B747-400 in February, with the schedule shown below (all times are local). Since October, Dubai has seen only the aging quadjet; it replaced the A330-300.

Meanwhile, the Indian capital (technically New Delhi) was exclusively by the B747-8 from August until December. The B747-8 is a lower-density aircraft but it has more business class seats. In January, Lufthansa deployed the B747-8 and the B747-400 to Delhi.

  • Frankfurt to Delhi: LH760, 13:15-01:30+1; five-weekly
  • Delhi to Frankfurt: LH761, 03:35-07:45; five-weekly
  • Frankfurt to Dubai: LH630, 13:30-22:45; once-daily
  • Dubai to Frankfurt: LH631, 01:50-05:45; once-daily
Boeing_747-430,_Lufthansa_AN0361582
In 2019, Dubai’s five largest transit markets over Frankfurt were Berlin, Paris CDG, Leipzig, Dresden, and Hannover. Three times as many passengers connected to/from wider Germany than the next most trafficked country, France. Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt via Flickr.

Nine routes will see it in March

March will have the highest number of B747-400 flights since the type’s reintroduction. It’s helped by the first day of the aviation summer season falling on the 27th. It assumes no other pandemic-related event that knocks confidence and demand or borders not reopening sufficiently, especially Hong Kong.

Cirium and Lufthansa’s website indicate the B747-400 will be used on the following routes from Frankfurt. Only Seoul will be exclusively by the B747-400. The A330-300 will replace the quadjet from March 27th, the exact date that Delhi returns to the B747-8.

  1. Frankfurt to Dubai: 26 B747-400 flights in March
  2. JFK: 26 flights
  3. Delhi: 19 flights
  4. Seoul: 15 flights
  5. Boston: five flights (March 27th-31st)
  6. Vancouver: five flights (March 27th-31st)
  7. Mumbai: four flights (March 27th, 28th, 30th, 31st)
  8. Hong Kong: four flights (March 27th, 28th, 30th, 31st)
  9. Bangalore three flights (March 27th, 29th, 30th)
Lufthansa, Boeing 747-400, Dubai
Lufthansa is currently using six of its eight B747-400s. This specific aircraft (D-ABVC) was withdrawn in 2013. Photo: Getty Images.

Things change again in April…

In the first whole month of the aviation summer season, some six destinations will welcome the B747-400, just more frequently: Boston, Vancouver, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Seoul. It won’t be used to JFK, which will instead see the B747-8 and A340-300.

What memories do you have of flying Lufthansa’s B747-400s? Share them in the comments.



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