Surprise: Lufthansa Sells Two Boeing 747-8s... To The US Air Force?!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Surprise: Lufthansa Sells Two Boeing 747-8s… To The US Air Force?!

Ben Schlappig
Published: 10 hours ago
Updated: 7 hours ago

Well here’s a development that I didn’t see coming, and I’m curious what the backstory is…

In this post:

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.

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[patphil]

1. Are they planning to do deportation runs with these aircraft?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. USAF Buying Lufthansa 747s To Serve As Future Air Force One Trainers, Spare Parts Sources

News & Features / Civil Aviation

USAF Buying Lufthansa 747s To Serve As Future Air Force One Trainers, Spare Parts Sources

The future presidential airlift program has ballooned from two aircraft to five, four of which will be flyable.

Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman
Published Dec 16, 2025 8:46 PM EST

The TWZ Newsletter

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed it is buying two Boeing 747-8 airliners from German flag carrier Lufthansa. The jets will be used for training and as sources of spare parts as part of a larger effort to try to accelerate the entry into service of two new VC-25B Air Force One aircraft. This follows the service’s recent announcement that it now hopes to have the first VC-25B in hand by mid-2028, a slight improvement in the still much-delayed delivery timeline for the aircraft.

“As part of the presidential airlift acceleration efforts, the Air Force is procuring two aircraft to support training and spares for the 747-8 fleet,” Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson, told TWZ in a statement. “Given [that] the 747-8i is no longer in active production, and is a very different aircraft than the 747-200, it is important for the Air Force to establish an overall training and sustainment strategy for the future Air Force 747-8i fleet.”

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