Best chance of flying in a 747?

Status
Not open for further replies.

JHZR2

Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2002
Messages
52,483
Location
New Jersey
Given the aviation topics popping up, here is one Ive been meaning to ask for a long time...

Ive flown in more or less every single commercial jetliner and many different prop planes that you'd see in any airline's listings since the mid 90's or before. That includes a number of the tri-engine airliners.

The ones I havent flown in? The 707, 747 and 787. The 707 Ill chalk up to my age, and the 787 I have every confidence Ill fly in. But the 747...

I fly a lot. primarily CONUS routes, though some international. Any international Ive ever flown have been in 767/777 or the big airbuses.

Go to the bigger airports, SFO, JHK, LHR come to mind and there are a ton of 747s.

So:

1) Are there any domestic routes that fly 747 planes?
2) What are the best eastbound flights to catch a 747?
3) Is it worth it to fly up top, or would you never know the difference?

Thanks!
 
I can't help too much but I think the best chance would be a transcontinental flight. I'm not too sure of an CONUS flight that would use the 747.
 
Off the top of my head, United, Delta, British Air, Air France and Lufthansa still operate at least some 747-400s.
Lufthansa has also taken delivery of a small fleet of 747-8Is and these will be in service until at least 2030, so there's no great rush.
You might find a 747-400 on a domestic repositioning flight or a domestic leg tagged onto an international route for which you can book tickets for just the domestic leg, although this would probably only work with Delta or United and would be pretty rare.
I have flown on the 707 a couple of times.
I'll bet that you've never flown either the BAC 1-11 or a Convair twin either.
Sadly, neither of them would now be available for any commercial flight, or in the case of the 1-11, for any flight at all.
 
Originally Posted By: fredfactory
Qantas NY-LA domestic


I don't think that Qantas can sell tickets for this as a free-standing leg, only as a continuation for those booked for travel from OZ.
 
Fly on Delta to Honolulu. You'll fly to Atlanta, maybe on a 737,757, etc, then a 747 from Atlanta to Honolulu. Not CONUS, but still a domestic flight.
 
Please don't call and ask about airplane type of your next flight. Somebody up there *will* think of it as "suspicious behavior".
 
Whenever I have booked a flight, it says the plane type on the selection page. I tend to try to fly Boeing if there is an option since my grandparents worked for them.
 
Boeing 747-400
ATL-HNL - 1x daily 01-May-2015 through 07-Sept-2015
HNL-ATL - 1x daily 01-May-2015 through 07-Sept-2015


Google is your friend - search 747 use on airlines to get more info.
 
New Zealand -- SFO. We take it a few times a year. There is a difference, but you pay for it.
 
Hard to find a 747 in domestic service. It burns a lot of fuel just taxiing out, and it takes a long time to load.

Still makes money on the international routes, however, and that's where you're likely to find it.

The upper deck is cool...like a miniature airplane cabin. Two flight attendants, two lavs, not many seats. It's exclusive and serene.

On Lufthansa, the upper deck is 1st class...very, very nice...but you'll be paying for that ticket. On UAL, it's business class...and very popular among the elite flyers. Those seats go quickly.

You'll find UAL's 747s on the Pacific routes, primarily. You'll find Lufthansa's on the IAD-FRA route.

It just plain rides better than anything else out there, and it cruises at 0.86 IMN, faster than anything else out there. It really is an incredible airplane. Unless the airplane is ham-fisted by the pilots, it even lands more smoothly than anything else.
 
The top area at least in the 1980's felt clauserphobic.

I grew up flying these age 2-12 and thankful not to travel.

I remember flying them on TWA and Pan AM.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
The top area at least in the 1980's felt clauserphobic.

I grew up flying these age 2-12 and thankful not to travel.

I remember flying them on TWA and Pan AM.


Those would have been -100 or -200 models back then.

The -400 models in service now have a very different upper deck.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top