With so many Boeing 747s no longer gracing our skies,
the opportunities for spotting a 747 have certainly reduced.
However, there are still a whole lot around – in fact, according to data from Cirium,
there are 9,681 flights operated by all variants of the Queen during the month of September.
Around the world, 122 airports see some Boeing 747 action this month, so there’s plenty of
opportunity to spot the jumbo. But which airports are the best? Let’s take a look…
Considering both passenger and cargo variants,
the airport with the most 747 flights this September will be Hong Kong.
Despite the airport suffering badly from the COVID-related downturn in passenger traffic, it
continues to buzz as a cargo hub, seeing a total of 755 jumbo jet flights operated in September.
If you’re lucky enough to be spotting here, you could see arrivals and departures from airlines
including Cargolux, Asiana, Polar Air Cargo, Silk Way West, Nippon Cargo and Korean Air.
Most of the movements see the use of the 747-400,
although Nippon, Silk Way and Korean also bring their 747-8s. Cathay, of course,
is the biggest operator here, with 258 flights using the 747-8 and 170 with the 747-400.
In Europe, Frankfurt comes out on top with 698 flights this month,
with the majority operated by Lufthansa. Frankfurt is unusual in that it sees a high
number of 747 passenger operations, thanks to Lufthansa’s enduring commitment to the type.
Frankfurt will also see 747 movements from Korean, Qatar, SF Airlines, Saudia Cargo,
Cathay, Air China, Asiana and China Airways.
A high number of these are 747-8Fs, with Korean and Cathay exclusively using the type.
Back to Asia, Incheon is only slightly behind Frankfurt with 696 flights,
just two fewer than Frankfurt. Korean and Asiana have the lion’s share of operations, but you can
also catch Polar Air Cargo and Silk Way here, neither of which touch down in Frankfurt.
Honorable mentions go to Shanghai, Taipei,
Luxemburg and Anchorage, all of which see more than 400 Boeing 747 movements this September.
Of course, not everyone has the luxury of jetting off to exotic locations to spot cool airplanes,
but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a great show closer to home
too. In the US, the top five airports for spotting Boeing 747s are as follows:
Los Angeles – 248 flights in September with 10 different visitors
New York JFK – 135 flights with 10 operators San Francisco - 107 flights with 5 operators
Miami – 86 flights with 3 operators And finally, Chicago – 76 flights with 7 operators
We do realize the month is already halfway through, and so perhaps about half of these
flights have already taken place. BUT, this video works as a rough guide for where you’ll
generally have the best chances of spotting the queen of the skies.
Do Boeing 747s fly in and out of your local airport?
Do you ever go out to spot them? Let us know by leaving a comment.