Well here’s a development that I didn’t see coming, and I’m curious what the backstory is…
Lufthansa reportedly selling two Boeing 747-8s
Lufthansa operates a fleet of 19 Boeing 747-8s. The airline is one of only three operators of the passenger version of the jet (the others are Air China and Korean Air), and as an aviation geek, I’m always delighted that these planes have a long term part in Lufthansa’s fleet, and are even getting new (strange) interiors.
However, the fleet may soon be just a little bit smaller than planned. JonNYC reports that Lufthansa is preparing to sell two Boeing 747-8s, and this is this is corroborated by this reliable Lufthansa fleet tracking guide.
Specifically, it would appear that the 13-year-old jet with the registration code D-ABYD is leaving the fleet in January 2026, while the 12-year-old jet with the registration code D-ABYG is leaving the fleet in the third quarter of 2026.
So if this all turns out to be accurate, that means Lufthansa’s long term fleet of Boeing 747-8s will likely consist of 17 frames.
Are these jumbo jets going to the US Air Force?
What’s unusual about this development is that we knew that Lufthansa wanted to keep all of its Boeing 747-8s for years to come, and even planned to retrofit them. So to see the airline suddenly dump a couple of these is surprising.
For that matter, which party would even be interested in a pair of used Boeing 747s? Typically when airlines try to sell used wide body planes, it doesn’t end well, and there’s little interest, or they take a huge loss on the deal. So I have to imagine that Lufthansa was given an offer that it couldn’t refuse.
With that in mind, reports suggest that these planes are going to the US Air Force. Why? I have absolutely no clue, though I can’t help but wonder if this has something to do with Air Force One replacements.
While President Trump plans to fly a Boeing 747-8 that was accepted as a gift from Qatar as the interim Air Force One (since he’s not happy with the old modified 747-200 that currently acts as Air Force One), there are still long term plans for the Air Force One fleet to be refreshed, with two new Boeing 747-8s, of course heavily customized. The project has been years late, though — while the planes were supposed to be delivered in 2024, that timeline has been pushed back to 2028, best case scenario.
Two 747-8s — Boeing line numbers 1519 and 1523 — were initially supposed to fly for Russia’s now defunct Transaero, but never ended up being delivered. They were the planes that were supposed to become Air Force One. I’m not sure if something happened with those frames, or if there has been a change in plans?
Interestingly, news of Lufthansa selling these two Boeing 747-8s coincides with the revelation that the Air Force One project has been delayed yet again, which makes you wonder if those points might be related. After all, we’re talking about Lufthansa selling two 747s, the same number of planes that will become Air Force One.
So we’ll mark this as “developing” for now, but that’s my best guess…
Bottom line
Lufthansa is reportedly selling two Boeing 747-8s, meaning its long term fleet will consist of 17 of these planes, instead of 19. It’s rare to see an airline reduce its fleet in this way, given how hard used wide body planes are to sell. The belief seems to be that these planes are headed to the US Air Force, though we don’t have any details beyond that. Could it have something to do with Air Force One replacements?
What do you make of this Lufthansa jumbo jet development?
