2017 - Present B744

Pictured are two of Himmelbahn's fleet of 14 747-400s. The story of Himmelbahn's 747-400s in later life is curious mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aircraft were retired in September 2020 and then returned to flying in September 2021.
The top airframe, ABHD, operated the last scheduled service of a Himmelbahn 747-400 from Chicago to Munich and wore a special decal to commemorate the event. After that, the aircraft was put up for sale along with the rest of the fleet. However, as 2020 turned to 2021, it became increasingly clear that long haul travel demand was rising rapidly and that the 777X project was going to run even further behind than previously anticipated. Thus, facing a fleet crunch, Himmelbahn announced the return of 10 of the 747-400s to service and by the end of the summer period the 747-400s were once again operating scheduled Himmelbahn flights. Rather ironically, the decal celebrating the retirement of the type has yet to be removed from the operating aircraft. It operates mainly on the route from Munich to PVG supplementing the 747-8 which also covers the route.
The bottom airframe, ABHA, wears a special Unitedwings livery which was unveiled when Himmelbahn debuted its new mainline livery in 2017. This 747 is the second to wear the standard Unitedwings livery after the HB livery changed in 2017. This airframe was also retired but was selected as one of the 10 747-400s to rejoin the fleet. It operates mainly from the Berlin hub covering the high capacity route to EWR.