There was a fair amount of speculation in the UK aviation world in the last few weeks regarding which livery from the past would be the last to be revisited by British Airways. To mark the carriers 100th birthday they have evoked memories of times gone by with a set of historic and dare I say, classic aircraft paint jobs.
First, there was a British Overseas Airways Corporate (BOAC) liveried Boeing 747, a British European Airways (BEA) Airbus 319 and a British Airways Landor 747, all of which are already flying. The fourth historic design was kept a closely guarded secret for a number of weeks, many hoped it wouldn't be one of the disastrous 'world' images that were much derided by passengers, executives and politicians.
However, the wait is over, the fourth and final design has been announced by the UK's leading legacy airline and it is the Negus design which will be applied to a Boeing 747.
The 747-400, registration G-CIVB, entered the IAC paint bay at Dublin Airport last Saturday where it is being repainted 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 customers know today.
When it initially flew, the Negus livery was the first time an aircraft had carried “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.
The repainted 747 will return to Heathrow and enter service later this month flying to long-haul destinations served by the Boeing 747, with the design remaining on the aircraft until it retires in 2022.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “Rumours have been circulating for quite some time about this final livery, so it’s exciting to confirm it is the Negus design. It’s particularly significant for us because it’s the first design worn by the British Airways that we all know today, with the distinctive lower case ‘a’ and the Union Flag on the tailfin.”
Here is a brief potted history of British Airways.
Here is a brief potted history of British Airways.
