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German flag carrier 
Lufthansa may have scored a deal they couldn’t refuse, with revelations claimed by JonNYC on X, that the German airline is selling two of its Boeing 747-8 aircraft to the United States Air Force. The aviation insider shared on his X page (formerly Twitter) that Lufthansa would see these two aircraft exit the fleet relatively swiftly.
Currently, LH operates a fleet of 19 Boeing 747-8 aircraft, and one of just three airlines commercially in the world still flying these for scheduled passenger services (the other two airlines being Korean Air and Air China). Lufthansa has, up until now, shown no signs of wanting to dispose of the relatively new planes, so this suggestion that two aircraft are now destined for the USA is turning many heads.
Auf Wiedersehen 747-8
Many critics have started to decode what could be happening here, with even Ben at One Mile At A Time (OMAAT), suggesting that it could be somehow related to the delays on the current Air Force One replacements. Donald Trump, President of the United States, has long since criticized the current 747-200 modified aircraft, claiming that they are no longer fit for purpose.
The US Air Force currently has an order for two new 747-8 to be manufactured by Boeing, just recently forecasted that these would be delayed until 2028, a date that would see the current president miss out on flying on these as part of his role as commander in chief.
Simple Flying reached out to Lufthansa for comment or context on these claims, but the airline unfortunately did not immediately respond by the time this article was published.
D-ABYD And D-ABYG
With just 19 active Boeing 747-8 operating in the Lufthansa fleet, the decision to part with two will see the airline reduced to just 17 of the aircraft. Lufthansa has been a long-time customer of the ‘Queen of the Skies’, and thus far has not hinted at any plans to get rid of the aircraft. The airline has already started undertaking a retrofit of these iconic airplanes, and the layout is raising a few questions.
As suggested by OMAAT, the two airplanes that are now destined for the US Air Force are those carrying registration D-ABYD (leaving promptly by January 2026) and D-ABYG (leaving in the second half of 2026). Aircraft specifics below have been retrieved from ch-aviation:
|
Aircraft Registration |
D-ABYD |
D-ABYG |
|---|---|---|
|
Serial Number (MSN) |
37829 |
37831 |
|
First Test Flight |
August 1, 2012 |
January 23, 2013 |
|
Delivery Date |
August 24, 2012 |
March 13, 2013 |
|
Current Configuration |
F8 / C80 / W32 / Y244 |
F80 / C80 / W32 / Y244 |
Both of these airplanes, which have been flying for the German carrier for just over a decade, are powered by four General Electric GEnx-2B67 engines and support the backbone of the carrier’s long-haul operations. These aircraft are a common sight at global airports such as 
Los Angeles International Airport, 
Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and Ezeiza International Airport.
Lufthansa Boeing 747 Returns To Chicago Due To Landing Gear Issue
The aircraft involved remains on the ground following the incident.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern & Baden-Württemberg
As is common with many airlines, Lufthansa has colloquially named both of these airplanes after German cities and states. D-ABYD carries the name Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a state located in northern Germany, along the Baltic Sea coast. D-ABYG is for Baden-Württemberg, a state in the Southwest and home to the Black Forest.
Lufthansa is currently reconfiguring its Boeing 747-8 fleet with Allegris cabins. These retrofits begin in 2025 and include adding private suites on the lower deck. Upstairs, the aircraft has retained the older business class layout for now and is expected to be refreshed alongside the new first class seats in 2027 or 2028. This means that currently the airline will offer a two-tier business class experience on the same flight/aircraft.
While we can continue to speculate, it is worth noting that the German airline is yet to confirm whether this move is actually happening, and JonNYC made it very clear on his X page that these were only rumors, and that he has ‘zero’ confirmation if this was fact or fiction. No doubt, following these claims, the aircraft will be hotly watched by aviation enthusiasts to see where these iconic aircraft end up.
