Which Asian Airlines Flew Classic Boeing 747s?

When the Boeing 747 came onto the scene in the late 1960s, it would unlock great potential in air travel. Suddenly airlines were able to carry huge numbers of passengers over great (or even short) distances in comfort, and at affordable prices.

The early Boeing 747s are known today as the ‘classics’. This term encompasses the Boeing 747-100, -200B, -300 and SP models.

The 747 was incredibly popular with airlines across Asia and the Far East, many of which were carrying large numbers of passengers between their growing hubs and major airports. The jumbo jet was perfect for this role.

Here are the Asian airlines which flew these classic Boeing 747s

Air China

Kambui, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

747-200B and 747SP

Air India

747-100, 200B, -300

All Nippon Airways

747-100, -200B

CAAC

CAAC 747SP at Gatwick. Photo (c) Martyn Cartledge

747SP, -200B

Cathay Pacific

Photo (c) Alan Edwards

747-200B, -300

China Airlines

Ted Quackenbush (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

747-100, SP, -200B

Garuda Indonesia

Photo (c) Martyn Cartledge

747-200B

Japan Air Lines

747-100, SP, -200B, -300

Japan Asia Airlines

747-100, -300

Korean Air

747SP, -200B, -300

Malaysia Airlines

747-100, -200B, -300

Mandarin Airlines

747SP

Orient Thai Airlines

747-100, -200B, -300

Philippine Airlines

Pedro Aragão, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

747-200B

Singapore Airlines

747-200B, -300

Thai Airways International

747-200B, -300

Into the 1990s, airlines across Asia started to introduce the Boeing 747-400 which became a very popular replacement for older models in the region. Nevertheless, the 747 classics soldiered on into the early 2000s.

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