dailynewsnblog
Try as we might, we can’t fight change: the fact is, the once-ubiquitous Boeing 747 is now a rarity among scheduled passenger operations. Just a handful of operators of the type remain, flying the 747-400 and 747-8 variants on the few routes that align with its capacity and passenger experience. For the most part, these are long-haul services, with the ‘jumbo jet’ having been credited as a catalyst for the boom in intercontinental air travel.
However, a closer look at current scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that the 
Boeing 747 is also used on a handful of shorter routes in select markets throughout the world, with some of these being under 700 miles long. Let’s take a look and see where these are.
Two Routes Below The 700-Mile Mark
According to Cirium, the shortest route with scheduled passenger flights operated by aircraft from the Boeing 747 family this year is the 664-mile corridor from Moscow Sheremetyevo Alexander S Pushkin International Airport (SVO) to Kaliningrad (KGD). This came in the form of a pair of Aeroflot flights on this route in January operated by Rossiya Airlines, using high-density Boeing 747-400 jets with a grand total of 522 seats on board.
However, as far as truly regular service is concerned, the next shortest route isn’t much longer, with Air China’s domestic corridor from Beijing Capital (PEK) to Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) clocking in at just 667 miles (1,073 km). This year, Air China has scheduled 289 rotations on this route with the Boeing 747-400, and 489 with the newer 747-8 model. He Li, the Vice President of Air China, said in 2011 when his airline ordered the 747-8 that:
“Air China has been operating 747s since the 1980s. The new, high-capacity Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental will deliver exceptional economics and a great flying experience to our customers.”
Other Short Hops
Elsewhere in Asia, as seen in the map above, Korean Air also uses its Boeing 747 family aircraft on a trio of surprisingly short routes. Originating at its main hub at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN), these corridors serve Tokyo Narita (NRT), Taipei (TPE), and Hong Kong (HKG), which are respectively 783 miles (1,260 km), 907 miles (1,460 km), and 1,284 miles (2,066 km) away from the capital city of South Korea. All are served by the 747-8.
It is worth noting that these routes are not served with nearly the same frequency as Air China’s aforementioned route from Beijing to Shanghai. Indeed, Taipei’s 14 round trips from January to March represent the highest frequency, while Hong Kong had six rotations: three in January and three in February. As for Tokyo Narita, Korean Air’s 747 coverage this year is limited to three round trips: one apiece in January, February, and March.
Returning to the Chinese market, Air China has two more short domestic routes with the 747 that barely exceed the 1,000-mile mark. There is little to separate them, with Beijing Capital to Guangzhou (CAN) being 1,165 miles (1,875 km) long, compared to 1,212 miles (1,951 km) for Beijing Capital to Shenzen (SZX). The former of these corridors has 569 747-8 and 178 747-400 rotations this year, compared to 369 with the 747-400 for the latter.
Here’s How Many Flights The Boeing 747 Flew Last Year
The Boeing 747 may be dying, but some carriers continue to persist and find ways to make the aging Queen of the Skies profitable again.
The Best Of The Rest
Having listed the world’s seven shortest scheduled passenger 747 routes this year, it is notable that the corridors occupying positions eight to ten are considerably longer. Indeed, the first two are transcontinental Russian domestic routes originating at Moscow Sheremetyevo, with their destinations being Blagoveshchensk (BQS) and Magadan (GDX). These corridors are respectively 3,486 miles (5,610 km) and 3,653 miles (5,879 km) long.
Once again, they are served by Rossiya’s 747-400s on behalf of Aeroflot, with Blagoveshchensk seeing 102 rotations this year, compared to 230 for Magadan. Rounding out the top ten is the 3,670-mile (5,906 km) 
Lufthansa route from Frankfurt (FRA) to Boston (BOS), which the German flag carrier is scheduled to serve 237 times this year with the Boeing 747-400. There is also a single round trip with the 747-8 planned for April 1.
