British Airways has a number of planes in retro livery. These aircraft have been repainted to celebrate the airline's centenary, and to highlight the story of how British Airways came to be. On Tuesday, April 9th, 2019, all four heritage livery aircraft were brought together in one place. This made for one incredible photo shoot!

Liveries

The four heritage liveries are in BEA (A319), BOAC (747), Negus (747), and Landor (747). To show off their pride and history, British Airways has flown these heritage livery aircraft far and wide. Heritage 747s have flown to destinations including New York, Cape Town, Lagos, and Dubai. Meanwhile, the BEA A319 has flown to cities within the United Kingdom, including Manchester and Edinburgh. In addition, the BEA A319 has flown to European destinations such as Milan, Zurich, and Amsterdam.

50,000 mark

British Airways also reached a new milestone this week, as 50,000 passengers have flown on the four heritage aircraft. For British Airways, this is a significant number and demonstrates the wide reach these aircraft have made. For reference, this is when each livery debuted at London Heathrow:

  • BOAC 747- February 18, 2019
  • BEA A319- March 3, 2019
  • Landor 747- March 9, 2019
  • Negus 747- March 21, 2019

In a span of fewer than two months, British Airways has flown 50,000 passengers total across the four aircraft. This is an impressive number and highlights the extensive operations of British Airways.

(Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)

Arranging the aircraft

According to a statement by British Airways, the photo shoot took over two hours. This included time spent carefully lining up the aircraft, arranging crew, and ensuring weather would not be of a significant hindrance.

According to British Airways' CEO and Chairman Alex Cruz, this process was meaningful for British Airways:

"Social media has been fired up with images from travellers all over the world when they've spotted the aircraft and as some 50,000 people have now flown on them since they arrived back in the fleet we wanted to capture a special photo to share with them."

-Alex Cruz, British Airways' CEO and Chairman

In addition to the four heritage liveried aircraft, British Airways included the current Chatham Dockyard livery, which is its current design. While British Airways celebrates its past, they also intend to use the centenary to look forward to the future of flying. Some of the innovations and debates British Airways is looking to be a part of includes the use of sustainable fuels, future careers in advanced aviation, and enhancing customer experiences.

British Airways are proud of their history. (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)

As British Airways debuts their new Club Suite this year, we'll be excited to see them fly well into the future.

Are these liveries special to you? Let us know in the comments!