24 February, 2019

Another historic livery to fly again on a British Airways jet

Time to B-E-A-MAZED by the next
British Airways historic livery. 



This is the centenary year of the UK's premier legacy airline British Airways and today the flag carrier has confirmed details of the latest in its new series of heritage livery's to mark the milestone birthday.

The airline has confirmed that an Airbus A319 will be painted in the very special colours of the airline’s short-haul predecessor, British European Airways (BEA).  The A319, reg G-EUPJ, will enter the paint shop at Shannon Airport this weekend.  It will then return to Heathrow and enter service a little later early next month and start flying around the UK and Europe adorned with the special paint job.

The historic livery will be kept on the aircraft until it retires next year. The aircraft can be followed using tracking website Flightradar24, which will feature a special image of the livery.


BEA flew predominantly on domestic and European routes between 1959 and 1968. However, there will be a significant difference with the replica; the aircraft will have a grey upper wing, rather than the traditional red, to meet current wing paint reflectivity requirements.

The BEA livery announcement comes hot on the heels of the incredibly successful introduction of the first BA heritage livery - that of BOAC painted on one of the airlines 747 aircraft. Thousands turned out to see the aircraft off on its first flight from Heathrow to New York in the historic livery. 

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “There’s been plenty of speculation about our next heritage livery, so it’s great to finally be able to make this exciting announcement. BEA is an important part of our history, and many customers and colleagues will have fond memories flying on its aircraft. We’re sure this latest livery will bring back a flood of emotions and pride in not only British Airways, but the UK’s impressive aviation history – and what better time to do that than in our centenary year as we celebrate our past and look to the future. I can’t wait to see this classic design taking back to the skies.”

Both the BEA and the BOAC heritage liveries are part of a special series to mark British Airways’ centenary, as the airline celebrates its past while looking to the future. More replica designs will be revealed in due course, while all new aircraft entering the fleet, including the A350, will continue to receive today’s Chatham Dockyard design.

The airline will be working with expert partners to identify BA’s 100 Great Britons; the people up and down the country who are currently shaping modern Britain, and of course, the year would not be complete without some special flying and moments for customers.

The centenary activity is taking place alongside the airline’s current five-year £6.5bn investment for customers. This includes the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline will also be introducing a new Club World seat with direct aisle access later this year.
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