United adds one-time Boeing 747 flight on Chicago-San Francisco route

Your chances to catch a Boeing 747 flight in the United States are dwindling as the last two U.S. airlines still flying the jet are in the process of phasing them out. 

But United Airlines customers with the flexibility to travel on short notice will get an unexpected opportunity to fly on the “Queen of the Skies” this Friday (July 28) on a route within the USA. 

United will use one of its remaining 374-seat Boeing 747-400s on a special one-time segment between two of its hubs. The flight – United Flight 2704 – is scheduled to depart Chicago O’Hare on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and arrive in San Francisco at 8:51 p.m., all times local. 

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Seats on the flight remained available for purchase Wednesday morning. As of 7:30 a.m. ET,  coach seats on Flight 2704 began at $264 one way. Business class seats were selling for $467 one way, though United’s online booking engine indicated few of those seats remained. 

The Chicago-San Francisco 747 flight is a rare chance for U.S. enthusiasts to fly on the aircraft without making an overseas trip. United uses its 14 remaining 747s for overseas flights from San Francisco, operating the plane on routes to Beijing, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Seoul and Taipei.

United and Delta each still fly Boeing 747s, though both plan to retire the aircraft by the end of the year. United has said its last 747 flight is likely to come sometime in the fourth quarter.

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