Lufthansa Is Operating Domestic 747 Flights For A Limited Time

Lufthansa Is Operating Domestic 747 Flights For A Limited Time

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As an aviation geek, there’s no plane I love more than the queen of the skies, the 747. As more airlines retire their 747s, getting on one of these planes is becoming more difficult. Pretty soon the last 747 will operate for a US airline, as airlines instead opt for more fuel efficient A350s and 787s.

Fortunately there are still some airlines that plan on keeping 747s in their fleet for a while, including British Airways, Lufthansa, etc. However, you typically have to take a longhaul flight to get on one of them.

For a limited time, Lufthansa will be flying the 747-400 between Frankfurt and Berlin. This will be happening between November 13 and November 30, 2017, though that the number of daily frequencies will vary, with some days seeing up to five roundtrip 747 flights.

Unfortunately Lufthansa’s 747-400s don’t feature a first class product, though they do feature fully flat business class seats, which are infinitely better than the standard intra-Europe business class, that are just economy seats with a blocked middle.

I’m not sure you can fully enjoy a 747 on a 269 mile flight, as you’ll have maybe 15-20 minutes to recline your seat. 😉 The coolest part of the experience might be the takeoff. If you’ve never flown a heavy jet on a very short flight, it’s quite a thrill. Since the plane won’t be anywhere close to its maximum takeoff weight (since it won’t need much fuel), it feels like a rocket on takeoff.

So I’m not sure I’d take this flight just for giggles personally, but if you’re an aviation geek, live in Europe, love the 747, and don’t want to take a longhaul flight, this is a really cool opportunity. I could certainly see myself trying to route onto one of these flights as part of a larger award itinerary, though.

My guess is that Lufthansa is increasing capacity on the route for a bit given airberlin’s bankruptcy, and the fact that they likely won’t be flying anymore in November. There’s still demand for domestic flights, and I guess Lufthansa is trying to temporarily add capacity to account for that.

The 747-400 operating the route features 371 seats, including 67 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 272 economy seats. Lufthansa won’t be selling a premium economy cabin on such a short flight, so you should be able to reserve premium economy in the same way you could reserve an extra legroom economy seat.

I would note that while the above flights are reflected in the schedule, schedules are always subject to change. You can bet that if a 747-400 has a maintenance issue and has to be taken out of service, these short domestic turns will be the first route to get the 747 pulled.

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  1. Florian Dietsche Guest

    Too sad I couldn't find those on Sundays and Saturdays. Since I don't live in either of the cities I would have to take the train on both ends which would be too time consuming to do after school since I wouldn't be in time the next day and I can't skip class just to fly a domestic flight without a reason a non-avgeek would understand. Connecting tickets are so expensive but I will keep trying to figure out a way to pull it off.

  2. PeterCS New Member

    Lucky, maybe it's also worth to note that Air France flies its 787 Dreamliner between Lyon and Paris. This saturday morning I will fly it, and as an FB platinum I can choose the business class seats for free, since they are sold as seat plus (there is no business class on domestic Air France routes), You can find further info here:

    http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/270985/air-france-plans-787-lyon-service-in-s17/

  3. PeterCS New Member

    it's also worth to mention that Air France is flying its 787 Dreamliner in domestic routes, too. This weekend for example I will fly it between Lyon and Paris. Since intra France they don't sell business class tickets, all the fully flat seats are sold as seat plus for 15EUR (as a platinum I can choose them for free).

    http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/270985/air-france-plans-787-lyon-service-in-s17/

  4. Kartikeya Vats Guest

    I agree there is not better plane in skies than the 747. I personally love flying it and luckily got a chance to fly business on Thai airways flight from Phuket to Bangkok in a 744. Relived the childhood when I flew BA and air Canada on 747. Thai airways still uses 744 on many domestic and international routes and would surely like to fly again if got a chance before it is retired (which is next year according to the crew)

  5. Dr. Brian B. Kerfoot Guest

    The 747 aircraft is no longer available for domestic USA flights by any US Airline. Why don't you offer Domestic coast to coast 747 service within the USA as your competition is Non existent with this Classic 747-400 or 747-8. United Air announced its final flight aboard its last 747-400 for Nov. 6, 2017 and they sold out the entire plane in only 2 hours!!! You can now pick up the Domestic USA 747 flights...

    The 747 aircraft is no longer available for domestic USA flights by any US Airline. Why don't you offer Domestic coast to coast 747 service within the USA as your competition is Non existent with this Classic 747-400 or 747-8. United Air announced its final flight aboard its last 747-400 for Nov. 6, 2017 and they sold out the entire plane in only 2 hours!!! You can now pick up the Domestic USA 747 flights across America freely!!! We strongly request that you consider doing this. Thank you!!

  6. Martin Guest

    There would be zero need for a first class cabin on a flight that is this short.

  7. jorge Guest

    I usually enjoyed Air Berlin flights out of Munich.

    So sad to see her go, just using BA avios miles this airline was a terrific option

  8. Ric Guest

    @askmrlee unless you are in the HON circle, no. It has no first class.

  9. CdlM Guest

    Adrian from Travel-dealz.de (https://travel-dealz.de/blog/lufthansa-747-kurzstrecke/) reached out to Lufthansa and they say that they will modify the seat settings so that passengers won't be able to move them to the fully flat position.
    Quite a cheap move imho, but then again it's Lufthansa we're talking about.

  10. askmrlee Member

    So is it worth it to book such a flight just to enjoy the FCT in FRA?

  11. PW Guest

    Over/Under on that being around the end of AB?

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Florian Dietsche Guest

Too sad I couldn't find those on Sundays and Saturdays. Since I don't live in either of the cities I would have to take the train on both ends which would be too time consuming to do after school since I wouldn't be in time the next day and I can't skip class just to fly a domestic flight without a reason a non-avgeek would understand. Connecting tickets are so expensive but I will keep trying to figure out a way to pull it off.

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PeterCS New Member

Lucky, maybe it's also worth to note that Air France flies its 787 Dreamliner between Lyon and Paris. This saturday morning I will fly it, and as an FB platinum I can choose the business class seats for free, since they are sold as seat plus (there is no business class on domestic Air France routes), You can find further info here: http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/270985/air-france-plans-787-lyon-service-in-s17/

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PeterCS New Member

it's also worth to mention that Air France is flying its 787 Dreamliner in domestic routes, too. This weekend for example I will fly it between Lyon and Paris. Since intra France they don't sell business class tickets, all the fully flat seats are sold as seat plus for 15EUR (as a platinum I can choose them for free). http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/270985/air-france-plans-787-lyon-service-in-s17/

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