Summary

• British Airways operated a total of 101 Boeing 747 aircraft across three variants before waving goodbye to them in April 2020.
• G-BNLH, named 'City of Westminster,' was leased to Qantas from 2000 to 2003, partially shown in Qantas livery.
• Following its rebranding and return to British Airways, G-BNLH was retired in 2009 after over 90,000 flight hours.

Following the order with Boeing in 1986, the United Kingdom's flag carrier took delivery of a new Boeing 747-400 in 1990. With the airline's shining livery, the aircraft operated under registration G-BNLH. The aircraft spent most of its 19-year tenure with British Airways, except for approximately three years when it was leased to Qantas. The aircraft returned to BA towards the end of its time and was eventually scrapped in 2009.

This article delves deeper into the history of that particular "The City of Westminster" aircraft and its transition to the Australian carrier for a brief period.

British Airways and Boeing 747s

• 1971: British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Boeing 747-100
• 1974: British Airways Boeing 747-100

British Airways has a long history with Boeing's iconic jumbo-jet. The airline acquired its first few Boeing 747-100s in 1974, only five years after the type's introduction by Boeing. Before that, the airline's predecessor, the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), operated its first Boeing 747 service between London and New York in 1971.

Over several decades, the airline operated 101 Boeing 747 aircraft across three variants. These included 19 Boeing 747-100, 25 747-200, and 57 747-400s. Amid the global pandemic, the airline waved goodbye to its last Boeing 747-400 aircraft in April 2020. Alex Cruz, the Chairman and CEO of British Airways, expressed his sentiment during the announcement,

“Today was an emotional milestone in the retirement of our 747 fleet as it was our last chance to see the Queen of the Skies depart from our home at Heathrow Airport. The 747s have played a huge role in our 100-year history, forming the backbone of our fleet for over 50 years. I know I speak for our customers and the many thousands of colleagues who have spent much of their careers alongside them when I say we will miss seeing them grace our skies."

G-BNLH: Life with British Airways

British Airways and its predecessor airlines had already been operating Boeing 747s by the time the aircraft that would become G-BNLH was ordered in 1986. The 1986 order was the first to include the Boeing 747-400 variant, and the first to be delivered to British Airways was in 1989. British Airways became one of the largest operators of the 747-400.

The aircraft was completed in February 1990 and delivered to British Airways the following month. It was registered as G-BNLH and named 'City of Westminster.' Its first revenue flight was completed at the end of March, operating a scheduled flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco. It remained in the fleet for over ten years, and its last flight before being leased to Qantas was completed in October 2000, with a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow.

Leased to Qantas

Qantas also operated a fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft, and in the early 2000s, they upgraded the inflight entertainment service on their fleet. Qantas decided to lease replacement aircraft to cover the gaps when its planes were taken out of service. Leasing the same aircraft type made it relatively simple to integrate into the operation, as it would be familiar to crew and ground staff.

The internal configuration was not precisely the same as on their aircraft, but it was easier to integrate it than an entirely different model and provided a similar capacity. Therefore, it could be used on existing routes on a like-for-like basis.

Following a partial rebranding into the Qantas livery, it was registered in the Australian Aircraft Register as VH-NLH and arrived in Sydney in November 2000. Much of the livery remained in British Airways colors, but the Qantas logo was added.

The first revenue service for Qantas was completed the same month with a flight from Frankfurt to Sydney via Bangkok. It was in service with Qantas for over two years, with its final flight from Sydney to London Heathrow via Bangkok. After completing work and re-entry into service of its fleet, Qantas returned the aircraft to British Airways in March 2003.

Retired and scrapped

• British Airways 747s logged 90,639 flight hours
• Performed 11,254 flight cycles
• Average daily utilization of over 12 hours

British Airways rebranded the aircraft and re-registered it as G-BNLH again. It returned to service in May 2003 with a flight from London Heathrow to Hong Kong. It then remained in the fleet until September 2009, when it operated a final revenue flight from Johannesburg to London Heathrow. After retirement from the fleet, it was sent to Victorville in California to await its fate. According to data from ch-aviation, it was officially scrapped on October 29th, 2009.

By the time British Airways retired the aircraft, it had logged 90,639 flight hours, performed 11,254 flight cycles, and had an average daily utilization of over 12 hours. Sadly, British Airways and Qantas have fully retired their Boeing 747 fleets.

What are your thoughts on the history of British Airways with the Boeing 747 and particularly the "City of Westminster" aircraft's history with Qantas? What was your memorable Boeing 747 flight? Share your experience in the comments section.

• 

  British Airways

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  BA/BAW

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport

  Year Founded:

  1974

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  Airline Group:

  IAG

  CEO:

  Sean Doyle

  Country:

  United Kingdom

  Loyalty Program:

  British Airways Executive Club

  Region:

  Europe

• 

  Qantas

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  QF/QFA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Brisbane Airport, Melbourne Airport, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport

  Year Founded:

  1920

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Vanessa Hudson

  Country:

  Australia

• 

  Boeing

  Stock Code:

  BA

  Date Founded:

  1916-07-15

  CEO:

  Dave Calhoun

  Headquarters Location:

  Chicago, USA

  Key Product Lines:

  Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787

  Business Type:

  Planemaker