Lufthansa's Longest Nonstop Routes With The Boeing 747 In 2025

If you’re feeling nostalgic, you might associate the Boeing 747 with British Airways or Pan Am. Today, however, it’s Lufthansa that is the world’s largest operator of the type, as well as a rarity in being one of only three operators of the 747-8. In addition to flying 19 Boeing 747-8s, it still flies a fleet of eight Boeing 747-400s, which are not scheduled to be retired until the Boeing 777-9 commences deliveries.

Lufthansa bases all of its 747s in Frankfurt, complementing the carrier’s A380 fleet in Munich. The carrier configures its 747-400 fleet in a relatively dense three-class layout featuring business, premium economy, and economy class, with 371 seats. The 747-8s, meanwhile, also feature first class in a four-class layout with 364 seats. Using data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, let’s examine Lufthansa’s longest routes with the Boeing 747.

Frankfurt To Los Angeles

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Lufthansa flies the Boeing 747 year-round between its main hub in Frankfurt and Los Angeles International Airport. It specifically uses the 747-8 variant, one of its most premium heavy aircraft. This route spans a distance of 5,045 NM (9,344 km) and is blocked for 11 hours 40 minutes traveling to LAX, and 10 hours 55 minutes when returning home. This makes it the sixth-longest route in Lufthansa’s network to use the 747.

Lufthansa configures its 747-8 with 364 seats, which is significantly fewer than the Airbus A380 and also less than the 747-400. However, these planes have the most business class seats out of any aircraft in the carrier’s fleet, with 80 flatbeds. Additionally, the 747-8s are configured with eight first-class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 244 economy seats. The A380 has the same first class capacity, two fewer business class seats, and significantly more premium and economy seats.

The 747-8 is specifically meant to be used on Lufthansa’s most premium routes, connecting cities with huge business demand to its Frankfurt hub. While the A380s were previously based in Frankfurt, they have all been shifted to Munich Airport and are used as high-capacity workhorses. With the 747-8, Lufthansa still captures huge, lucrative business demand, but doesn’t have to worry about filling up nearly as many low-yielding economy seats.

Frankfurt To Tokyo Haneda

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Tokyo is one of the world’s most economically influential cities and is often ranked as the most economically influential city in Asia. There are two major airports serving Tokyo (Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport). Historically, Haneda was designated as the domestic airport while Narita was for international travel, but in 2010, the Japanese government reopened Haneda Airport for international flights.

Haneda Airport is closer to the main city center of Tokyo and, as such, is generally preferred by airlines when they can obtain slots. Lufthansa no longer serves Narita and has concentrated all of its flights at Haneda Airport. It flies the Boeing 747-8 from Frankfurt, and this route crosses a distance of 5,067 NM (9,384 km), with a block time of 12 hours 45 minutes headed to Tokyo and 14 hours 25 minutes returning to Germany. This makes it Lufthansa’s fifth-longest 747 route by distance.

A direct route between the two cities passes directly over Siberia, but Russian airspace is closed to most European carriers. Instead, flights between Europe and Asia have to route around the enormous country. In the case of Lufthansa’s services to Tokyo, it has to route its aircraft over Central Asia and China. This adds significantly more flight time compared to flying over Siberia, but Lufthansa has no other choice.

Frankfurt To Mexico City

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Lufthansa’s Boeing 747-8 is the biggest aircraft that regularly visits Mexico City International Airport. MEX is the primary hub for SkyTeam member Aeromexico, but Lufthansa maintains a strong presence here. Not only does it serve Mexico City with its flagship aircraft from Frankfurt, but it also serves this city from Munich with an Airbus A350-900. This makes its presence in Mexico City one of the largest of any European carrier.

This route is 5,166 NM (9,567 km) long and Lufthansa blocks the westbound flight at 12 hours 20 minutes, while the return is 10 hours 40 minutes long. This route is longer than the one to Tokyo-Haneda by great circle distance, but the detours required by the Tokyo flights due to Russian airspace restrictions mean that the route to Mexico City takes less time. By great circle distance, this is Lufthansa’s fourth-longest route using the Boeing 747.

As the flag carrier of Mexico, Aeromexico maintains a strong long-haul network. In Europe, it serves London, the largest and most economically important city in Europe, along with Paris and Amsterdam, home to SkyTeam partners Air France and KLM. It also serves Madrid and Rome, but it does not serve Germany. Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance, and it has a lock on the German market. As such, it has the routes from Frankfurt and Munich to Mexico City all to itself.

Frankfurt To São Paulo/Guarulhos

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São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and is the center of economic activity in the country. It has significant service to North America and Europe, with Lufthansa operating flights from Munich and Frankfurt. Its flights from Munich use the Airbus A350-900, while Frankfurt sees the Boeing 747-8. At 5,279 NM (9,776 km), this is Lufthansa’s third-longest route using the 747, with flights blocked for 11 hours 55 minutes to São Paolo and 11 hours 30 minutes returning.

With 80 business-class seats, this aircraft is perfect for São Paolo. Lufthansa captures huge premium demand to this destination, and even has enough demand to warrant selling eight first-class seats. However, demand for economy seats is comparatively lower, and while the 747-8 has more economy seats than any aircraft in its fleet besides the 747-400 and A380, the difference between the 747-8 and its other planes is not huge.

On this route, Lufthansa has competition from LATAM, and it’s actually LATAM that offers more capacity. It uses the Boeing 777-300ER, and while Lufthansa’s 747-8 is all about the premium seating, LATAM’s 777-300ER is the opposite. Data from aeroLOPA shows that LATAM configures its 777-300ER in a two-class layout, with 372 economy seats and only 38 business class seats. This makes for a total of 410 seats, as opposed to the 364 on Lufthansa’s 747-8s.

Frankfurt To Singapore

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Frankfurt and Singapore are both major business hubs, and the latter is also home to Star Alliance member Singapore Airlines, which partners with Lufthansa. As such, there is significant demand for flights between the two cities. This is Lufthansa’s second-longest 747 route, at 5,552 NM (10,283 km), and flight times are blocked for 12 hours 30 minutes flying east, and 12 hours 55 minutes headed west.

While the previous entries have all used the Boeing 747-8, Lufthansa primarily deploys the 747-400 on this route. This makes it the carrier’s longest route with the 747-400. This aircraft, unlike the 747-8, is configured much more densely, with 67 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 272 economy seats, for a total of 371. Lufthansa does, however, schedule the 747-8 on this route for 88 days of the year during the winter season.

While Lufthansa does offer significant capacity on this route, it’s Singapore Airlines that does the heavy lifting. It flies a daily Airbus A380 in a four-class configuration (including its world-famous Singapore Suites first class product), along with a daily four-class Boeing 777-300ER. This flight is a one-stop route that has a layover in Frankfurt before continuing to New York JFK as a fifth-freedom service, complementing Lufthansa’s flights on that route.

What Is Lufthansa’s Longest Route With The 747?

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Comfortably beating the runner-up by over 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) is Lufthansa’s daily service from Frankfurt to Buenos Aires. It spans 6,198 NM (11,479 km) and is blocked for 13 hours 45 minutes headed to Argentina, and 13 hours 20 minutes returning home to Germany. This makes it by far Lufthansa’s longest route with the 747 by great circle distance, although the flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo-Haneda is longer by scheduled duration due to its current routing.

Lufthansa operates this route with a Boeing 747-8 every day of the year, and its position on this route is uniquely strong. The 747-8 is by far the largest aircraft flown to Buenos Aires by a European flag carrier, with other airlines typically operating the Airbus A350, Boeing 777, or Boeing 787. Buenos Aires doesn’t even have nonstop flights to London, but Lufthansa flies its flagship aircraft on the route from Frankfurt.