British Airways Boeing 747 arrives at Heathrow in heritage livery to mark centenary celebrations
A Boeing 747 aircraft of British Airways today touched down at Heathrow in a heritage livery, adorning the Negus design which was originally on the British Airways fleet from 1974-1980, said a company statement, adding that alongside the heritage liveries, all new aircraft entering the fleet, including the A350, will continue to receive today’s Chatham Dockyard design.
This is the fourth British Airways aircraft in a heritage livery to enter service following a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) liveried Boeing 747, a British European Airways (BEA) Airbus 319 and a British Airways Landor 747, which have collectively flown to more than 30 destinations across the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. Image source: British Airways
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “Reintroducing four heritage designs into our fleet has been an incredibly nostalgic time for us and our customers, we’re impressed at how popular they’ve been. In our centenary year, it’s important that we celebrate our past, and we also have big plans to look to the future. I’m excited about what the rest of this year has in store.” Image source: British Airways
The arrival of Boeing 747 aircraft, which was painted to mark British Airways’ centenary, rounds off a nostalgic few weeks for the aviation community. The special series of designs have been introduced to mark British Airways’ centenary, as the airline celebrates its past while looking to the future. Image source: British Airways
Earlier this month, the Negus-liveried 747-400, registration G-CIVB, entered the IAC paint bay at Dublin Airport. It was painted with the first version of the Negus livery which adorned the British Airways fleet from 1974-1980, directly after the merger of BOAC and BEA and the formation of the airline that customers know today. The aircraft will head to Cape Town later today for its first commercial flight in its retro design. Image source: British Airways
The Negus livery was the first to carry “British Airways” since 1939, when the original British Airways Limited merged with Imperial Airways to form BOAC. Interestingly, the Union Flag is not present on the side of the aircraft as, like the final BEA aircraft livery, the flag began to be fully celebrated on the aircraft’s tailfin instead. Image source: British Airways