CORRECTION: As some of you correctly pointed out, Air China apparently still operates some 747-400s on a few domestic sectors here and there. So Asiana’s will be, in fact, not East Asia’s last Boeing 747-400. I apologize for the mistake!

I flew on Air China's 747-400 when I went back to China last year, from Beijing Capital to Shenzhen Bao'an (PEK-SZX). This route is among China's busiest, but that day only 110 passengers were onboard. The business class was fairly crowded, but in economy, Air China was literally ferrying chairs - cushy vintage airplane seats with a boxy shape that reminded me of Pan Am's 747s, which I have only seen in online pictures. The business class seats are angle-flat and exactly the same as Asiana's, as shown in this video. I was fortunate to book myself in business class on the upper deck, with my friend and I each occupying a window seat. The view from the upper deck was truly amazing; I've never seen the ramp from such a tall angle. The inflight meal, a mediocre Japanese-style rice bowl, was unremarkable, but the cabin crew was stellar. They seemed to know a lot of aviation geeks are flying this route and were quite welcoming to us, two young students who are obviously different from the other business people on the plane, who were either taking a nap or doing paperwork, while we were unsettled in our seats, eager to explore the rest of the cabin. So, the flight attendants invited us to tour the first-class section on the lower deck, where Air China has swivel-style seats, quite similar to American Airlines’ first-class product on their 777s. We also toured the galley area, where we saw the cassette-based IFE system. Sadly, the economy class movie screen has been retrofitted, using LCD TVs rather than CRT projectors. The cabin has lots of interesting details, such as a fixture on the wall that is a Chinese drawing on one side, and a mirror when flipped to the other side. Some research revealed that Air China is using these B744s as backups for Xi’s "Air Force One", and that’s the reason why they are still flying. The last time the plane I was on (B-2447) was used for governmental tasks was flying Kim Jong Un to Singapore, phew. Of course, the airplane will be remodeled for these tasks. Another interesting aspect of my flight was that my friend and I estimated the cost per seat using fuel burn information and found it to be even higher than what we paid for our tickets (about $350 per person). This confirmed our suspicion that Air China wasn't expecting these 747s to generate revenue, but rather they were in operation for political reasons.

Yes was waiting for this one!! Too bad to see more 747s getting out of service. But happy to see the reports still to enjoy

Queen of the sky 747 ✈️

Air China still operates three B744s for domestic services within China: B-2445, B-2447, and B-2472.

At least Lufthansa has proclaimed "LONG LIVE THE QUEEN".....

Korean Air still operates the 747 from ICN to JFK under flight KE85

Among the last warriors of a generation long past. I still remembered when I took Garuda's 747 from Bali to Jakarta in the middle of the night with my family. I remembered we nearly missed my flight cause my grandma was still in the bathroom. Aahh great memories😆

In 1995 or 1996 when I was 5 or 6 I flew Asiana 747 upper deck in business class roundtrip from Seoul Gimpo airport to LAX (there was no incheon airport at that time).

Would love to see you guys trying out Cebu Pacific's A330neos

You and Felix are so lucky, I travel so infrequently and my lucky stars must align properly to ride interesting airplanes. I still consider riding Asiana’s final pax 767 in 2022 a highlight of my avgeek life. Now I’d really like to fly on Lufthansa’s A340-600 before they replaced by A350s from next year. I have to propose to my family to take a trip to Europe to make it happen. My last 747-400 was with Thai Airways in 2017, HS-TGO, SIN-BKK. Keep up the great work!

I really love how you keep getting better with these videos and all the additional information and context to provide. I like your straightforward that is so much better than any of your "competition" out there. You have found your Niche and you are doing a fantastic job at it please keep up the good work! (also, I'd like to see you review La Compagnie boutique airline)

I saw it yesterday being towed at Incheon Airport. Long live the Queen.❤

THX FOR TAKING MY RECOMENDATION

I still remember my 3rd ever flight. It was my first time flying internationally it was on a B747-400 operated by Cathay Pacific from Bangkok to Hong Kong. I was still quite young so i didn't know what it was but i remembered how much i loved it! It was so massive and so smooth. (Only flew on 737-800's prior to this flight)

Yoo, I was in that airplane 4E on the sameday, which departed from icn to kix 🙋😮

sad to see more 747s retire

This hits close to home for me. I flew this exact aircraft back in October 2012 from NRT to ICN and to date is my last 747 flight.

really fortunate to have taken this plane in first class from Narita to Seoul in September 2023...

Wow this is dream flight. 747-400. Upper deck

i really like these Brutally Honest videos, it really helps us to rate the airlines, thank you for the content.

come to kenya and try Kenya Airways And Jambojet

I flew the 747-400 twice to Australia on Qantas, both times in the upper deck. I liked it up there. Much more quiet for sleeping

l flew Asiana 747s many times between LAX and Seoul Gimpo and then the new airport in Incheon when they were part of the OneWorld alliance. Always pleasant upper deck business class service. Two of those flights were really memorable. One, from LAX to Seoul, suffered through heavy turbulence for the entire flight. The jet stream was so strong that it turned the normal 12 hour flight into a 14 hour one. The pilot tried many times but couldn't find a single smooth altitude. It was so bad, that sleeping was impossible. The other really memorable flight was from Seoul to LAX on Christmas Eve. Asiana catering was special and upgraded for that flight. Not a lot of passengers, so service was super timely and personal.

I have flown on United Airlines Boeing 747 400 from Frankfurt to San Francisco. The seats were old, but the plane took off with no problems and the economy seats are slightly wider than 10 abreast on the Boeing 777 fleet.

i am already feeling a nostalgia about 747, i flown 747 many times, three times on upper deck and the only one experience with old first class with broken seat😂, speaking of water dispenser i make only one flight drinking water from there, it's have a cup side of it and i didn't ask crew for water!

The five converted Asiana 747-400 freighters are former Asiana 747-400 Combis. Rode on one from Gimpo to LAX and back. It was a unique experience riding at the front knowing there was cargo at the back.

I am so i gratefull i get to fly lufthansa 747-8 in june from SFO-FRA

Royal Brunei Airlines would be a good video. I would choose the BWN-DXB-LHR route with the 788. I recently had an opportunity to fly them twice (both A320NEOs)

@Simply Aviation, you are missing out on the 747-8 on Korean Air. They mainly fly (according from flightradar24) fly from Seoul Incheon to Paris CDG, New York JFK, Atlanta, and Tokyo NRT on some occasions. You should hurry up as they are converting into Cargo operations.

I remember when Air china still flew the 747-400 on the PEK-SFO route, I flew on that route dozens of times. Same goes for UA's 747-400 before 2017

Atlas Air have one or two that they use for contract movements.

B747-400 Is The Wide Body I Have Moost Fligth Whit Qantas,KLM,Vigin.Lufthansa And BA.Great Video

gracias por el video, saludos desde Mexico 🇲🇽

Japan has really good off-base catering. Not uncommon to see reviewers mention the non-hub departure from Japan have better catering than the airline hub 😅

The last 747-400 I flew on was on Air France's - and I got the first row on the upper deck and I loved it!

Can you fly Porter airlines? It’s a small Canadian airlines

you should 100% try flying KLM's economy comfort class, it's a really good product in my experience with it

You guys should find a way to fly on a Dornier 228 at some point in the near future. That's one aircraft we haven't seen on this channel yet. Also great video!

i used to watch your videos as a kid

Awesome video!

Great video! I would love to see some ultra long haul routes covered, such as the Qantas 787 from LHR-PER!

Could you please make a review of Juneyao air’s 787 from Helsinki to Shanghai?

In late 2019 or early 2020, my wife and I had the pleasure of flying on Asiana’s Royal Business class from ICN to MNL in seats 1A and 1B. Unforgettable experience and I’m glad we were able to do it before the passenger 747s disappear. And to do it on an Asian carrier was special.

Lucky you! I still haven't got a chance to sit on a 747 yet 😢

The window seats on the second floor of that plane are relatively low in height. I once got on the second floor and hit my head several times. :) That plane is scheduled to be retired after the Taipei-Seoul flight on the 25th of this month. Happily, I am scheduled to board the last flight.

Geez, I remember maybe back in 2005 or 2006 went from ORD to HKG straight flight upper deck those are fun planes

awsome video thanks

I used to travel on the 747-400 back in the early 2000's, traveling between Jakarta/Singapore and Amsterdam, albeit only in peasants class. Too bad they're being phased out, but that's the nature of aviation technology, I guess.

I remember taking the 747-400 when I was a child. So sad to face the end of the 747-400 era soon....

I was tracking this flight with my friend!

one 747 is gone, well atleast we still have some in operation!

try the ANA "flying honu" a380, it's quite amazing

Fantastic video David!

Hope all is well, David. Here are the airlines that I would like for you to cover in the near future: AirJapan: Tokyo (NRT) - Singapore (SIN) Qantas: Business Class (Seat 4A) Sydney (SYD) - New York (JFK) via Auckland (AKL) JetBlue Airways: Core Class New York (JFK) - London (LHR) Air Seoul: Seoul (ICN) - Kalibo (KBO) Cebu Pacific Air: (Seat 51A) Manila (MNL) - Dubai (DXB) Korean Air: Ho Chi Minh (SGN) - New York (JFK) SGN-ICN: KE 478 (Economy Class - Seat 54A ICN-JFK: KE 085 (Prestige Class - Seat 20A) Starlux Airlines: Business Class (Seat 5A) (Inaugural Flight) Taipei (TPE) - Seattle (SEA) Starlux Airlines: Economy Class (Seat 65A) Los Angeles (LAX) - Taipei (TPE) Hong Kong Airlines: Taipei (TPE) - Hong Kong (HKG) ZIPAir Tokyo: Business Class (Seat 4A) Tokyo (NRT) - Los Angeles (LAX) WestJet: Business Class (Seat 4A) Calgary (YYC) - Seoul (ICN) You should also plan on taking a flight on board HKExpress brand new A321neo sometime this year. I hope to see these trip reports on KZfaq in the near future, as your paterons continue to support you, and I wish you luck with your dreams to review as many airlines as possible!

Wowie!

Great flight. The chance for flying Queen of the Sky as a passenger is going smaller and smaller, since older 747 going retire, and 747-8 only operated by selected airline.

Flew this exact route on that plane a couple months ago, used it as an excuse to visit Osaka so that I could fly the OZ B744 out of it. I feel fortunate to have been able to fly on it before it's retired :(

You should fly on Air North! (The Canadian one)

You should try Royal Brunei Airlines's A320NEO out some time. Love the video!

We’ll miss the queen of the skies 😢

Schön video ❤

maybe fly on scoots embraer planes (if i misspelled sorry)

13:27 I remember seeing a telephone like that in a BA 777 back in 2012. It was very expensive because it was a satellite telephone. My parents and I joked we could update the answering machine message from there.

Its sad that the b747 will be retired for asina airlines in 2024

Very nice.

Try HK Express! It is Asia's number one for on-time performance among low-cost carriers in 2023, and I would say their hot food is even better than their Mother company, Cathay Pacific! With their affordable and low price, it is worth to try once!

Nice video, as usual! For the future, these are the airlines that you could try and that I really would like you to review : Volotea A319/A320 from Strasbourg SXB Vietjet Air A321 from Hanoi I know I will be hard for this one, but Air Koryo An-148 from Beijing Capital PEK Laser airline, on their old MDs Viva aerobus from Mexico!

There is also another Russian airlines called Rossiya that still operates 8 747-400s. Atlas air also has 5 747-400 for passenger charter services. There is also an airline from Kyrgyzstan called AeroStan that operates 3 Classic 747-200s. Along with Iran Air with just 1 747-200. Mahan Air also has 1 747-300 by the way.

GOOD Asiana Airlines ✈️ ❤

Please review MIAT 787 🤞

Wanted to fly ASIAN because of this, but its so hard to predict when they'll field the 747-400 for their KIX-ICN route

Also, when is your Asiana A380 trip report coming out?

You should re visit Australia/New Zealand. The airlines down here have definitely got better since you last reviewed them!!!!

Great review as always ❤ Regarding your question: I'd love to see a Mahan Air A346 video

Besiides the scheduled passenger service and freight service operators you mentioned, 747-400's are also still operated in charter passenger service by Atlas Air (and probably by others elsewhere in fhe world).

If you go to LAX you will point a lot of Volaris and Viva Aerobus from México😉of course a lot of Aeromexico too

I flew Asian airlines 747 for the first time in 2017

You don't do the silent videos anymore? Those were relaxing to watch. Can't fall asleep to the voiceover videos.

Cool Video as for the recommendation I would recommend Tibet Airlines or Sichuan Airlines

Would love to see a JetBlue video from New York to London with their A321LR.

This channel is becoming better than Josh chaill

Can't believe they'll be retired very soon. Just some years ago, there were quite a few of these B747-400s in Korea.

Fiji Airways, Air Tahiti Nui and Air New Zealand soon please!

Rossiya Airlines still has 9 747-400 but all of then are on storage.

The world's last 763 is also in Asiana

Air China operates them still on routes like Beijing to Guangzhou and such

Imagine how horrible it would be if you spent £1000's and ended up sitting in row 1 on that Lufthansa 747.

I flew on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Shanghai to Tokyo the airline is all nippon airways🇯🇵🎌🇯🇵🎌🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🗾⛩️⛩️⛩️⛩️🗾🗾🗾⛩️🗻🗻🗻🗾🗾⛩️⛩️

Can you do Delta’s 767-400ER from CVG to CDG or British Airways 787 from CVG to LHR

Sas a321 neo from Cph to Toronto 5:21

New challenge to Cover :Air Tanzania 787

Try Indonesia new airlines: Super Air Jet and Pelita Air.

I’d love to see review of Lao Airlines A320 between VTE and ICN or CJJ

Could you fly Qantas’ a380 Sydney to London via singapore? That would be incredible

Hi guys some time ago i see that South African airways return to São Paulo will be good to see the new international service again from OR Tambo or Cape Town as Brazil is the only international (out of Africa until now) destination

Do a review on Hawaiian air 787

Could you please make a video about from Vienna to Shanghai?

Please cover domestic services in Iceland and Greenland, I would love to see a video about those flights

Try the Garuda's B777-300er on Jakarta-Amsterdam route please, i haven't seen any International airline reviewer fly on this route yet