A Boeing 747 Has Been Sold

Air China has said bon voyage to a retired Boeing 747-400 as part of efforts to raise cash for no longer active aircraft.

The listing, which was initially formed in May 2025, has now found a buyer, with the transaction coming in at US $13.6 million for serial number 25882.

This Boeing 747 was first delivered to Air China in February 1994, where it remained a one-airline operator throughout its history, retiring at 31.6 years of age. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored on September 6, 2024.

The only other point where the aircraft was inactive was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the jet was stored in Beijing between July 2021 and August 2023 before returning to service that same month. It would only go on to fly another 12 months before being withdrawn from service.

This 747 specifically held the registration of B-2245 and was the oldest passenger aircraft in China’s civil aviation fleet, coming in at 30 years at the time of its retirement.

Operating for 30 years shows the longevity of the 747 fleet and the reliability it held across the years for the Air China network, the queen of the skies, critical for the development of the long-haul international network, with high-capacity being brought to markets for decades as the population only continued to grow, moving into the 21st century.

The sale of withdrawn aircraft is certainly not uncommon. Thai Airways has looked to do something similar with its own outgoing quad-engined jets in a bid to raise cash. However, for not every company is it as simple as putting a listing up and getting the sale; some assets may never find a buyer.

The Boeing 747 Retirement

The sale of the 747 from Air China, but more importantly, the retirement of the fleet, marks a trend seen across the industry as airlines continue to farewell the type known as the queen of the skies.

Entering service more than half a century ago and built by the team known as The Incredibles, led by Joe Sutter, the 747 played a pivotal role in the advancement of commercial jet-powered flying with its sheer scale offering capacity and range not seen before.

However, by the time the 2000s and 2010s arrived, and even with the introduction of the last iteration, the 747-8, the industry began to change, and trends shifted away from the use of these quad-engined superjumbos in favour of achieving better efficiency.

As a result, with operational life cycles coming to an end, airlines began planning for life without the 747, leading to the mass retirement of the aircraft type. Additionally, many airlines publicly announced their phasing-out plans.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, things changed dramatically, with most airlines that had still retained the 747 but had retirement plans previously announced taking the opportunity to rid themselves of the aircraft in a bid to become more efficient and streamlined.

With demand at effectively zero for long-haul travel while airlines were hurting, there was a valuable opportunity that could not be passed up to streamline, and many airlines did so, such as British Airways, KLM and Qantas, to name a few.

Ultimately, the time in the industry has come to an end for the 747 across passenger operations for most, with the presence of the queen of the skies having reduced quite significantly over the last five years alone.

Despite the retrenchment of the series around the world, this does not discredit in the slightest the impact and now everlasting legacy it was able to leave on the world, especially the aviation industry.