Lufthansa is still flying their 747s and bought a bunch of -8s for passenger use. https://simpleflying.com/lufthansa-boeing-747-retirement/ https://simpleflyin

Lufthansa is still flying their 747s and bought a bunch of -8s for passenger use. https://simpleflying.com/lufthansa-boeing-747-retirement/ https://simpleflying.com/lufthansa-boeing-747-retirement/ Part of the true story is that most of the other carriers didn't want to perform the fuel inerting retrofit that the FAA mandated to be completely done by the end of 2017. This was the end result of the TWA800 explosion back in 1996 which was believed to have been caused by ignition in the fuel tanks. https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC%20120-98A.pdf https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/... That's (not-coincidentally) the date United and Delta retired their 747s with a big publicity splash which let them avoid the real question of why they were flying their craft without fuel interting systems right up until the day before it was mandated.