As British Airways retires its fleet of Boeing 747-400s without so much as a domestic farewell flight, Live and Let’s Fly is offering the next best thing possible, a photo walkthrough in memory of the Queen of the Skies.
British Airways 747 Photo Tour
Last October I flew British Airways aboard the 747-400 from London to Los Angeles. I slipped on during pre-boarding and due to some delay boarding wheelchair passengers, I found myself for about three minutes in a virtually empty cabin. I took full advantage of the time.
First Class
British Airways had one of the largest first class cabins on the 747-400, with 14 seats in first class. Truthfully, these seats did not feel as spacious as a business class seat on many carriers or even British Airway’s new Club Suite aboard the Airbus A350, but it was still a very comfortable seat that I enjoyed on a flight from London to New York.
You can read my British Airways 747-400 First Class review here.
Business Class (Club World)
People like to complain about the old British Airways eight-across business class cabin, but I always found it perfectly comfortable. My 747-400 had 86 Club World seats onboard, creating a huge business class cabin. Business class was located directly behind first class on the main deck and also on the upper deck, a more intimate environment with only 20 seats.
Premium Economy (World Traveller Plus)
The World Traveller Plus seat on the 747-400 was an older generation that BA’s current premium economy seat, but I found it to be better padded and more comfortable. It was like a comfortable recliner chair and I managed a nice nap. My configuration had 30 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.
You can read my British Airways 747-400 Premium Economy review here.
Economy Class (World Traveller)
I never flew in economy class on the 747, but the cabin included 145 seats in 10-across 3-4-3 seating.
CONCLUSION
What a remarkable aircraft; an iconic silhouette in the skies for 50 years. I’m very sad that British Airways is not offering the Queen a proper sendoff, but hopefully this photo essay is better than nothing.
Thanks for reading my British Airways 747 photo tour! What is your favorite memory of the BA 747?
Thank you, Matthew, for this.
It’s been years (2011) but I managed to snag a seat in CW on the upper deck going from DFW to LHR and then onwards to DXB. One of the finest rides in the sky, even though the seats were past their prime even then.
Gonna miss the Queen. The Upper Deck, even with the current Club World, was still for me the coziest business class to Europe. I do think there were more than 10 seats though as you stated…but math is hard for me so could be wrong.
Farewell to an icon with BA. Sad.
Sorry, there were 20. Five rows of four.
Sad to see these birds go
Lost count of how many flights on this plane. Thai, British, United, Virgin, even way back when on Pan Am. Pretty much all classes of service. Unless I had some time constraint, I would always select the 747 if it serviced the route I needed. Somehow, even BA Club World was tolerable on this plane.
What a shame that, over the years, the need for it has gradually declined. Thanks for the rides.
Thank you for leaving us some pictures of the grand interior shots! I was heartbroken when United retired her 747 birds. I will say I was thankful for the fanfare that United had for the final United 747 Hawaii flight that you were on! I purposely flew SFO to Seoul Korea before the Hawaii flight you were on. I got First class and had the most gracious senior flight attendants who made it a memorable experience.
Had award seats for My family of five for ord to London on the 747 in March. So sad was cancelled at the last minute. I did think the upper deck seats by the window were really underrated. Comfy. Lots of leg room. Big storage area.
Also did ba a380 for work from ord to lhr. Only a380 at ord. Sat in middle of four. Not so nice lol but not terrible. Found etihad from ord to Abu Dhabi sitting on the aisle in biz worse than ba
aeronave mais bela que já vi, irá deixar saudades no mundo da aviação….
My favorite memories of the Queen are my first and last time on board. First was 1970 from Orly to JFK on TWA in First no less and I was just a kid. Last flight, this past January on BA Business Class upstairs. I was wondering at the time how many more opportunities I might have on this remarkable aircraft.
Also fond memories of flying on 747’s on carriers such as Qantas, American, United, Lufthansa, Swissair, Northwest, Thai, Pan Am… Long live the Queen!
Club World (business class) in the photos is much more variable than the replacement. I love the window seats. Cozy. In contrast, the aisle seats are interior. The replacement Club Suites is more equal but a bit less cozy than the old window seats.
Inferior, not interior.
Starting from the mid 90s till now I fly on many carriers airlines on 747-400 especially British Airways of course, no other aircraft that made me feel comfortable than this Jumbo aircraft. 2 years ago I last take from miami to London, and from London to Miami back, I can tell you how much of a great experience I enjoy. But why in the hell they put 747 to retirement? Look at the pics that I see on 747, its remarkable and beautiful same way, can they give it just 4 more years to fly in service? I love 747, like NO other.