How Many Gallons Does a Boeing 747 Hold?

Do you know how much fuel a Boeing 747 can hold? Here’s the answer.

A Boeing 747 can hold between 48,400 and 57,285 gallons of jet fuel, depending on the model (the 100 through 400 series). That’s equivalent to 180 to 213 tonnes, or roughly 183,214 to 216,847 liters of fuel.

Boeing has increased the 747’s maximum takeoff weight over the years, allowing later variants to carry more fuel and fly farther.

Read More: Boeing 777 Vs 787: What Makes The Difference?

How Many Gallons Does a Boeing 747 Hold?

Among widebody airliners, only the Airbus A380, one of the largest and most expensive aircraft ever built, holds more fuel than the largest 747 variant, the 747-400, at 57,285 gallons.

The only Boeing aircraft that hold more fuel than any 747 variant are the 747-8I Intercontinental (63,034 gallons) and the 747-8F Freighter (59,734 gallons), both later, larger versions of the 747 itself.

Airbus

• Airbus A318: 6,400 gallons (24,210 liters)
• Airbus A319: 6,400-7,980 gallons (24,210-30,190 liters)
• Airbus A320: 6,400–7,190 gallons (24,210–27,200 liters)
• Airbus A321: 6,350–7,930 gallons (24,050–30,030 liters)
• Airbus A340-200: 40,960 gallons (155,040 liters)
• Airbus A340-300: 39,060 gallons (147,850 liters)
• Airbus A340-500: 56,750 gallons (214,810 liters)
• Airbus A340-600: 51,750 gallons (195,880 liters)
• Airbus A380: 84,535 gallons (320,000 liters)

Boeing

• Boeing 737-100: 4,720 gallons (17,865 liters)
• Boeing 737-200: 5,160 gallons (19,532 liters)
• Boeing 737-300/400/500: 5,311 gallons (20,105 liters)
• Boeing 737-600/700/800/900/MAX: 6,878 gallons (26,035 liters)
• Boeing 747-100: 48,400 gallons (183,214 liters)
• Boeing 747-200/300: 52,410 gallons (199,158 liters)
• Boeing 747-400: 57,285 gallons (216,840 liters)
• Boeing 747-8I Intercontinental: 63,034 gallons (238,610 liters)
• Boeing 747-8F Freighter: 59,734 gallons (226,095 liters)
• Boeing 777-200: 31,000 gallons (117,348 liters)
• Boeing 777 Freighter: 47,890 gallons (181,283 liters)
• Boeing 787-8: 33,340 gallons (126,206 liters)
• Boeing 787-9/10: 36,384 gallons (126,372 liters)

How Much Fuel Does a Boeing 747 Jet Burn?

The 747’s four engines burn roughly 10 to 11 tonnes of fuel per hour at cruise, working out to about 1 gallon (around 4 liters) every second. The aircraft has a range of up to roughly 7,790 nautical miles, with a fuel capacity of up to 238,604 liters on the largest variants.

A Boeing 747-400 flying from London to New York burns roughly 70,000 kilograms of fuel, equivalent to about 82,353 liters at jet fuel’s typical specific gravity of 0.85.

Fuel costs shift constantly with the broader jet fuel market, so any specific dollar figure for a route like that goes stale quickly; check a current jet fuel price index for an up-to-date estimate, then multiply by the volume above to get a rough cost per flight.

How Much Fuel Does a Boeing 747 Use During Takeoff?

During takeoff and the climb to cruising altitude, a typical 747 passenger jet burns about 5,000 gallons (around 19,000 liters) of fuel, roughly 10% of its total fuel capacity, just to get off the ground and up to cruise.

How Much Does It Cost to Fill a 747 With Fuel?

Jet fuel prices have swung a lot over the years and remain genuinely volatile, driven by global oil prices, so any fixed dollar figure here would be out of date almost immediately.

As a rough way to estimate current cost: take the 747 variant’s fuel capacity from the table above (in gallons) and multiply it by the current jet fuel price per gallon, which airlines and aviation sites publish regularly. That gives a ballpark figure for a full tank, which airlines rarely need anyway, since flights are fueled for the specific route rather than topped off completely.

Where is the Fuel in a Boeing 747 Stored?

Fuel is stored in the wings on aircraft like the Boeing 747. While that might seem like an odd spot, it’s actually the most practical and efficient choice.

With passengers and cargo already occupying the fuselage, the wings are really the only practical place left to store fuel, and it happens to help balance the aircraft’s center of gravity as fuel burns off during flight too.