Boeing 747-400 — specifications and route economics
Boeing 747-400 (B744) — up to 660 seats, MTOW 396.8 t, CF6-80C2B1F. With FlightCost you can calculate any route on this type for free: fuel, airport and air navigation charges, crew, maintenance, leasing and the break-even load factor — with a source for every number.
Calculate a route on the B744 →Drawing
Top view at the same scale as its class neighbours.
Specifications
| Parameter | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seats, typical layout | 570 | OpenAP |
| Seats, maximum | 660 | OpenAP |
| Maximum take-off weight (MTOW), t | 396.8 | OpenAP |
| Maximum landing weight, t | 260.3 | OpenAP |
| Operating empty weight (OEW), t | 182.4 | OpenAP |
| Fuel capacity, t | 203.5 | OpenAP |
| Cruise Mach | 0.85 | OpenAP |
| Cruise altitude, m | 11,000 | OpenAP |
| Engine | CF6-80C2B1F | OpenAP |
| Number of engines | 4 | OpenAP |
| Length, m | 70.7 | OpenAP |
| Wingspan, m | 64.4 | OpenAP |
| Fuselage width, m | 6.50 | OpenAP |
| ICAO aerodrome code letter | E | OpenAP |
Economics on Frankfurt — Beijing
7,789 km along the flight path, 9.5 h block, 80% load factor — 528 of 660 seats (certified maximum), July. Calculated by the FlightCost engine; ownership, maintenance and crew rates are defaults: 32% of the total rests on assumptions.
| Item | EUR | Share | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | 158,913 | 57% | calculation |
| Aircraft ownership | 37,851 | 14% | assumption |
| Airport charges | 20,098 | 7% | calculation |
| Distribution and sales | 19,464 | 7% | assumption |
| Crew | 15,045 | 5% | assumption |
| En-route charges | 12,397 | 4% | calculation |
| Maintenance | 11,447 | 4% | calculation |
| Ground handling | 2,062 | 1% | assumption |
| Terminal charge | 778 | 0% | assumption |
Types of this class on the same route
Same route, load factor and assumptions — only the aircraft type differs.
| Type | Seats, max | flight, EUR | per seat, EUR | CASK, ¢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-300 | 440 | 159,128 | 362 | 4.6 |
| Boeing 787-9 | 420 | 154,757 | 368 | 4.7 |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 550 | 204,345 | 372 | 4.8 |
| Airbus A380-800 | 853 | 322,206 | 378 | 4.8 |
| Airbus A330-200 | 406 | 154,717 | 381 | 4.9 |
| Airbus A350-900 | 440 | 172,441 | 392 | 5.0 |
| Boeing 777-200/200ER | 440 | 173,084 | 393 | 5.1 |
| Boeing 747-400 | 660 | 278,055 | 421 | 5.4 |
| Boeing 787-8 | 380 | 160,162 | 421 | 5.4 |
| Airbus A340-300 | 440 | 190,870 | 434 | 5.6 |
| Boeing 747-8 | 605 | 268,689 | 444 | 5.7 |
Lease rate and maintenance cost: estimates for ownership and upkeep
If you do not enter your own rates, the calculator uses estimates from weight and seat count. These are parametric, not operator data: each one can be replaced in the calculation.
| Lease, EUR per month | 1,197,167 |
| Utilisation, flight hours per month | 300 |
| Ownership per flight hour (lease ÷ hours), EUR | 3,991 |
| Maintenance, EUR per flight hour | 783 |
| Maintenance, EUR per cycle | 4,021 |
| Crew, EUR per flight hour | 1,398 |
| Crew, EUR per cycle | 519 |
Maintenance by year — US carriers' reports (Form 41)
Maintenance cost per block hour as reported by US carriers flying this type: direct (labour, materials, outside services) and full — with the maintenance department's overheads. Dollars of each year, not restated. 2020 stands above its neighbours: flying dropped, the fixed part of the cost stayed.
2025: direct USD 87, with overheads USD 170 per block hour, 1 carriers
Source: BTS, Form 41 Schedule P-5.2; analysis in the “Maintenance” research. →