British Airways is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year (or more accurately 100 years since the founding of Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, which eventually became British Airways), and to celebrate that the airline will be rolling out four planes in retro liveries.
The first plane that British Airways rolled out in a special livery was a 747-400 with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) livery. This was the standard livery in the BOAC fleet between 1964 and 1974.
This is possibly my favorite livery on any plane ever. Seriously, how stunning is this?
Then last week British Airways rolled out an A319 in the British European Airways livery, which was active from 1959 through 1968. While still beautiful, I just can’t get as excited about a special livery A319 as I can about a special livery 747. To me the 747 will always be the most beautiful plane to grace the skies.
Today British Airways rolled out their third plane in a special livery, which is also their second 747-400 in a special livery. The plane with the registration code G-BNLY is entering service today. This aircraft will be maintaining this design until it retires in 2023.
You can track this exact plane here, to see if your flight will be operated by it. It looks like the plane is enroute to Miami today (I’d go to the airport and plane spot, though I’m guessing a Saturday evening trip to the airport is roughly the last way Ford wants us to spend our weekend).
Here are some pictures of this beauty:
This livery is known as British Airways’ Landor design, which was the carrier’s primary livery between 1984 and 1997. It’s also perhaps interesting to note that this particular plane joined the British Airways fleet in 1993, so when the plane first entered service it had exactly this livery.
British Airways CEO Alex Cruz had the following to say about this plane:
“The Landor livery is one of our most famous designs, and many will remember seeing it in the skies at some point in their lives. Introducing these liveried aircraft has been a huge honour, and we’re excited to reveal details of the final design soon.”
Bottom line
As an aviation geek, British Airways is making me very happy with these special livery 747s. I love both the BOAC and Landor designs for different reasons.
I think the BOAC design is timeless, and looks as good today as it did decades ago. Meanwhile the Landor design is decidedly retro, so it’s cool to see a crisp 747 once again featuring this livery.
Which of the two special 747 liveries do you prefer?
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