Air China Pulls Boeing 747s From Key Domestic Routes for Winter

October 19, 2026 — Air China is taking its Boeing 747s off its busiest domestic routes for the first half of the northern winter season, while keeping the 747-8I on three long-haul routes to Europe and the U.S.

What happened

According to AeroRoutes, Air China’s latest schedule removes 747-400 and 747-8I flying from these domestic trunk routes out of Beijing Capital:

Route	Aircraft removed	Dates
Beijing Capital–Guangzhou	747-400	October 28, 2026 – January 2, 2027
Beijing Capital–Shanghai Hongqiao	747-8I	October 25 – December 31, 2026 (last scheduled 747-8I flight was October 7)
Beijing Capital–Shanghai Hongqiao	747-400	October 25, 2026 – January 20, 2027
Beijing Capital–Shenzhen	747-400	October 25 – December 31, 2026

The replacement aircraft have not been named (TBA). AeroRoutes cautions that the 747s may still appear on selected domestic dates and that more schedule changes are highly possible.

Where the 747-8I keeps flying

Beijing Capital–Frankfurt: 3 weekly (1 weekly from October 25 to November 8, 2026)
Beijing Capital–New York JFK: 5 weekly
Beijing Capital–Washington Dulles: 2 weekly

What it means for non-revs

A 747 swapped for a smaller jet usually means fewer seats per flight, so if you have a ZED or interline trip on these Beijing domestic routes, check loads closer to departure.
Enthusiasts hoping to log an Air China 747 on a short domestic hop should look before October 25; after that, the safest bets are the Frankfurt, New York JFK and Washington Dulles routes.