British Airways has unveiled its new 747 retro paint job and I am very impressed…
Last month, I wrote about BA’s plan to repaint one of its Boeing 747-400s with classic British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) livery. British Airways is celebrating its 100th birthday this year and chose the classic BOAC livery used between 1964 and 1974. The special flight from Dublin to British Airways to deliver the repainted aircraft was aptly numbered BA100.
All image courtesy of British Airways
Yesterday, the aircraft flew from London to New York JFK on BA117. That route coincides with BA’s first use of the 747 in its BOAC livery 55 year ago.
While I don’t often agree with him, I think British Airways’ CEO Alex Cruz summed it up well here:
The enormous interest we’ve had in this project demonstrates the attachment many people have to British Airways’ history. It’s something we are incredibly proud of, so in our centenary year it’s a pleasure to be celebrating our past while also looking to the future. We look forward to many more exciting moments like this as our other aircraft with heritage designs enter service.
> Read More: British Airways Honors 747 Legacy With Retro Livery
CONCLUSION
You have a few years…until 2023 at least…to catch a ride on this aircraft. BA plans to use it around world. Its tail number is G-BYGC and you can track it on Flightradar24.
What a fabulous paint job for a fabulous aircraft. Like One Mile at a Time, I certainly prefer the A380 as a passenger, but there is no plane more beautiful than the Queen of the Skies.
> Review: British Airways 747-400 First Class London to New York
That is one gorgeous Speedbird. I’m transiting through LHR in a couple of weeks; hopefully I can catch a glimpse of it there.
Makes me wonder what necessitated a new livery for BA then. But what do I know.
When we visited London in 2016 I was surfing every other website except Speedbird. My wife was quietly praying to fly on Speedbird. Her prayer was answered. 7 of us and I thank God for answered prayers. To and fro Kuala Lumpur it was sheer professionalism in every aspect of this flight. It was being in a dream in a Dreamliner.
Amazing how this retro livery beats the hell out of most every other paint job in the sky. When the entire BOAC fleet wore this look, it was the VC10’s that truly stopped a plane-lover’s heart (they were the aircraft for which this stunning livery was originally designed), but those four-engine Vickers are long gone and this 747 is now surely the handsomest jumbo in the sky.
https://www.facebook.com/FlyDulles/videos/2043953169236166/
Nice!