@ San Francisco, CA
August 2024
A Lufthansa 747-8 bearing the name “Potsdam” on final approach to SFO, a rare sight here as only a few international carriers still operate the Queen of the Skies on routes to San Francisco. Lufthansa operates 19 of these newer -8I (Intercontinental) models, along with eight of the older 747-400 aircraft, having flown 747s in their fleet since 1970. Introduced in 2010, the 747-8 is the third generation of the 747, with a lengthened fuselage, redesigned wings, new engines, and improved efficiency. Production of the 747 finally ended in December 2022 with the final 747-8F delivered to Atlas Air. Lufthansa typically names their aircraft after German cities, plus some international ones. Since the first aircraft in 1960 (a 707 named “Berlin”) over 300 aircraft have been named, with 245 candidate cities still on the waiting list.
