Pictures: British Airways reveals BOAC 747 retro-jet

British Airways has announced that it is repainting one of its Boeing 747-400’s in a retro-livery of its predecessor British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as part of its centenary celebration.

The aircraft G-BYGC will arrive at Heathrow from the paint shop in Dublin on 18 February in the BOAC scheme and will enter service the next day. The livery will be used until the aircraft retires in 2023.

A rendering of the new BOAC retro-livery jet.
A rendering of the new BOAC retro-livery jet.

An enticing piece of news the airline also released is that the BOAC 747 “will be the first aircraft to receive a popular design from British Airways’ past with more details of further designs to be revealed in due course”.

With the airline confirming that all their new aircraft including the A350 will remain in the existing Chatham Dockyard livery, it will be interesting to see which will be the next aircraft and livery to be announced.

Alex Cruz, Chairman and CEO, British Airways
“So many British Airways customers and colleagues have fond memories of our previous liveries, regularly sharing their photos from across the globe, so it’s incredibly exciting to be re-introducing this classic BOAC design.

Our history has shaped who we are today, so our centenary is the perfect moment to revisit our heritage and the UK’s aviation landscape through this iconic livery.”

What’s next?

Since BA has announced that more aircraft will be repainted in special liveries, I think that it could be one of the following.

A narrow-body aircraft in the livery of BA second predecessor British European Airways (BEA).

A British European Airways Vickers Vanguard.
A British European Airways Vickers Vanguard.

The iconic Landor livery that was used on the original 747’s and Concorde.

Photo copyright Michel Gilliand.
Photo copyright Michel Gilliand.

Interestingly the aircraft in the image G-ZZZA is the oldest Boeing 777 delivered to British Airways and remains in service with the airline today at 24 years old.

About Vedant Agarwal

A frequent flyer for both work and pleasure - Vedant has held elite status on many of the major alliances and airlines. Also an avid aviation photographer, his pictures have been published in and on the covers of many international publications.

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