British Airways today welcomed the arrival of the third in its series of four heritage liveries – a Boeing 747 painted in the iconic Landor design, which will be recognisable for many including myself as it flew on British Airways aircraft between 1984-1997. In fact this livery graced the fleet as I used to watch these liveries landing in Heathrow out of my bedroom window as a kid, and inspired me to get in to aviation.
The 747, registration G-BNLY, actually touched down at Heathrow this morning and will enter service right now, flying to Miami as BA211. It will then continue to fly long-haul destinations served by the Boeing 747, with the design remaining on the aircraft until it retires in 2023.
The aircraft marks the third heritage design to join the fleet, with one final design to be revealed later this month as the airline continues to celebrate its past while looking to the future in its centenary year. The airline has already launched its BOAC 747, and the BEA A319.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “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.”
The centenary activity is taking place alongside the airline’s current five-year £6.5bn investment for customers. This includes the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline will also be introducing new Club World seat with direct aisle access later this year.
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Beautiful – though my personal favorite is the BOAC 747. This livery, as much as I like it, feels too recent to me to seem truly ‘retro’.
There are some iconic aircraft liveries in Aviation History, in my opinion, one of them is the British Airways Landor
I find this livery classic, timeless, powerful, it has a clear identity, harmony…
I like a lot
Further my previous comments, I think part of what makes both these BA retro liveries seem so ‘fresh’ is that the fuselages are not Eurowhite. Personally, I’m sick of almost all-white planes. (Are you listening Aer Lingus?)
I have flown British, for many years, between Toronto and Rome/Milan.
I have had only one horrific experience because of the ground manager who was upset with the connecting flight, commenting that this would have been the last time. Though the aircraft had not been secure yet, she refused to board me, and went through hell, overnight.
I enjoy the flight, the attention and the courtesy; to see you bring back the familiar designs, is simply wonderful.
Thank you.
Rinaldo Dario Paonessa
rpaonessa@hotmail.ca
I have flown British, for many years, between Toronto and Rome/Milan.
I have had only one horrific experience because of the ground manager who was upset with the connecting flight, commenting that this would have been the last time. Though the aircraft had not been secure yet, she refused to board me, and went through hell, overnight.
I enjoy the flight, the attention and the courtesy; to see you bring back the familiar designs, is simply wonderful.
Thank you.
Rinaldo Dario Paonessa
I LOVE this livery…glad they brought it back! Simply the best…
This plane looks even better now that BA has introduced the Negus-designed livery, with the odd “British airways” titles.
Even BA management seems to have questioned the wisdom of the lowercase “a”, because they dropped the word ‘airways’ entirely in 1980, and for the next four years the fleet bore the single-word title “British”.