The UK's British Airways has confirmed that its final two Heathrow based Boeing 747 aircraft are scheduled to depart from the airport for the very last time tomorrow morning (Thursday 8 October). One aircraft is painted in its heritage ‘Negus’ livery and the other in its current Chatham Dockyard livery.
Thousands of British Airways flight crew, cabin crew and engineering teams have worked over several decades on and with the aircraft during their time at British Airways during a period when they represented the heart of the airline’s long-haul fleet.
To commemorate G-CIVB and G-CIVY’s final take-off from the airport at 08:30am, the airline has arranged a special send-off with a unique and rarely seen synchronised dual take off on parallel runways*, which will be followed by flypast along the southerly runway by one of the aircraft (G-CIVY in current BA livery) as it bids its home a final farewell.
Celebrating the occasion in a virtual way to keep spectators safe, the airline will be live streaming moments from the departure on its Facebook page and is also inviting its colleagues, aviation enthusiasts and customers to share any special memories or photos of British Airways’ 747s on social media channels at 7:47am and 7.47pm on their departure day using the hashtag #BA747farewell.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said “Tomorrow will be a difficult day for everybody at British Airways as the aircraft leaves our home at Heathrow for the very last time. We will pay tribute to them for the incredible part they have played in our 100-year history and to the millions of customers and BA colleagues who have flown onboard and taken care of them.
“We hope that Britain will join us in sharing their memories with us on social media at 7:47am and 7.47pm on Thursday using #BA747farewell.”
In July British Airways announced that its remaining 747s had sadly flown their last commercial services as a result of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the airline and the aviation sector. The fleet is being replaced by quieter more fuel-efficient aircraft as part of the airline’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
British Airways 747 G-CIVB
Date it entered service | February 15, 1994 |
Retirement date | September 08, 2020 |
Popular/recent routes | Last passenger flight was April 6, 2020 from Miami to Heathrow |
Livery | Current livery: Negus Previous livery: Landor and was named ‘City of Litchfield’ |
Fact and stats (approx.) | Operated 13,398 flights Flown 59 million miles |
British Airways 747 G-CIVY
Date it entered service | September 29, 1998 |
Retirement date | September 08, 2020 |
Popular/recent routes | March 20, 2020 last passenger flight from Chicago to Heathrow April 5, 2020 last freighter flight from Dallas to Heathrow |
Livery | Chatham Dockyard |
Fact and stats (approx.) | Operated 11,034 flights Flown for 90,161 hours Flown 45 million miles |
*The departure of the aircraft and dual runway take-off is weather dependant and could be subject to change on the day.
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