Lufthansa lands $400 million windfall 747 sale to US Air Force

A Boeing Co. 747 passenger aircraft, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, taxis at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is getting a $400 million holiday bonus from an aircraft that’s long been out of favor — the venerable 747, two of which it is selling to the US Air Force to support a new presidential jet.

The $400 million price tag is well above market value for the hump-backed aircraft, according to the Cirium Ascend Consultancy, which says the each plane would most likely sell for $75 million to $100 million. In 2022, when production of the jet halted, Boeing sold each 747-8 for a list price of about $400 million.

The Boeing Co. 747-8 planes will be used for training and parts as the company works on next-generation versions of Air Force One, the Air Force said.

Boeing stopped making the passenger version of the jet in 2017, and use of the four-engine aircraft has been in decline over the past decade as carriers turned to smaller, more efficient models like Boeing’s 777 and Airbus SE’s A350. Lufthansa is the largest operator of 747s with 27, followed by Korean Air and Air China.

In total, Boeing built 1,574 747s, including special variants like a NASA-commissioned Space Shuttle carrier.

Last week, the Air Force pushed back the estimated delivery date for the first of two new Air Force One jets by another year to mid-2028, giving Boeing even less wiggle room to meet President Donald Trump’s demand to get the plane by the end of his term.

In the meantime, Trump accepted a luxury 747-8 from Qatar to temporarily serve as the new Air Force One, in one of the biggest foreign gifts ever to the US government.