11 December, 2020

British Airway's sends its final 'BOAC' liveried 747 to its final resting place.

Another sad day for aircraft enthusiasts in the UK as one of the last Boeing 747 aircraft belonging to British Airways completed its final flight forever. 

The four-engined jumbo jet, registration G-BYGC resplendent in the classic BOAC retro ‘Gold Speedbird’ livery which was recreated to celebrate the airline's 100th birthday in 2019, completed the flight to its final resting place in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales.  

The aircraft flew around part of the Welsh coast after taking off from the BA engineering base at Cardiff Airport before landing at the commercial airfield at Bro Tathan, the Welsh Government’s 1,200 acres business park in the Vale of Glamorgan. Here the beautiful big old 'Queen of the skies' was welcomed by an audience of invited guests including British Airways cabin crew, all of whom have fond memories of serving on the 747 fleet.

G-BYGC joined the British Airways fleet on 20 January 1999 and has been in the air for 91,023 hours, operating some 11,049 flights and travelling nearly 45 million miles. Her last passenger flight was on 4th April returning to BA's Heathrow base from San Francisco. Retirement had been a long way off, but the drastic drop in demand because of the ongoing pandemic forced BA to readjust its fleets and brought about the early demise of its jumbo fleet. 

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ CEO, said: "This final 747 journey is a bittersweet moment for the many thousands of British Airways customers and crew who have flown the world on these Queens of the Sky over the last five decades. But while we will certainly miss their majestic presence in the skies above, knowing our last 747 will be preserved for future generations to enjoy at a new home in Wales gives us a great sense of pride and is a fitting end to this chapter of British Airways’ history."

eCube Solutions Managing Director Peter Dunsford said: "eCube Solutions is delighted to receive the very last British Airways 747. This iconic aircraft has a lot of very loyal followers with fond memories and attachments to the aircraft type. We can assure everybody that this aircraft will continue to be utilised and enjoyed in many different ways for many, many years to come."






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