Several days ago, I wrote about how Lufthansa had reportedly sold two Boeing 747-8s, and how they could be going to the US Air Force. Well, we’ve now had that detail confirmed, and we also know what purpose the planes will serve.
Lufthansa selling two Boeing 747-8s, leaving fleet in early 2026
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 will soon be a bit smaller than planned. JonNYC was first to report that Lufthansa is selling two Boeing 747-8s, and this information was also corroborated by this reliable Lufthansa fleet tracking guide.
Specifically, 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.
That means Lufthansa’s long term fleet of Boeing 747-8s will consist of at most 17 frames.
The US Air Force will use 747-8s for presidential fleet support
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.
With that in mind, where will these planes end up? Reuters reports that the US Air Force has just picked up two Boeing 747-8s (presumably that’s in reference to the Lufthansa deal), at a cost of $400 million. The intent is for these planes to be used to support the Air Force One fleet.
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 are the planes that are supposed to become Air Force One.
So why would two additional of these jets be picked up? The idea is to use them for presidential fleet support in the future, and to create a crew training and spare parts sustainment program. This is because the 747-8 is no longer in production and differs significantly from the 747-200 currently used in the presidential fleet.
Bottom line
Lufthansa is selling two Boeing 747-8s, meaning its long term fleet will consist of 17 of these planes, instead of 19. The planes are both expected to leave the fleet in 2019.
The plan is reportedly for the jumbo jets to head to the US Air Force, as they’ll be used for presidential fleet support. The future Air Force One fleet will consist of Boeing 747-8s, so these planes will be used for crew training and as a source of spare parts.
What do you make of this Lufthansa jumbo jet development?