The iconic Landor design will be the next heritage livery to take to the skies on a British Airways Boeing 747 as part of the carrier’s centenary celebrations.
The aircraft landed in Dublin earlier this week to be painted and will return to Heathrow Airport later in the month. Yesterday, BA parent company IAG revealed it had order 42 777s to upgrade the BA fleet.
Aircraft is the third in a series of heritage liveries flying as part of British Airways’ centenary celebrations – a British Overseas Airways Corporate (BOAC) liveried Boeing 747 is already operating around the airline’s long-haul network, and an Airbus A319 is currently being painted with the British European Airways (BEA) livery.
The Boeing 747-400, registration G-BNLY, entered the IAC paint bay at Dublin Airport earlier this week where it will be repainted with the Landor livery, which adorned the British Airways fleet from 1984-1997.
Design features include the British Airways coat of arms with the motto To Fly. To Serve. on the tail fin, with a stylised section of the Union Flag. It will also be re-named ‘City of Swansea’, the name the aircraft had when it originally sported the Landor livery. The livery also features the airlines’ centenary logo, which is proudly displayed on all the centenary heritage liveried aircraft.
It will return to Heathrow and enter service later in the month flying to long-haul destinations served by the Boeing 747, with the design remaining on the aircraft until it retires in 2023. The aircraft can be followed using tracking website Flightradar24, which will feature a special image of the livery.
British Airways’ chairman and chief executive officer, Alex Cruz said: “The passion and pride we’ve seen for our heritage liveries so far, from both customers and colleagues, has been both phenomenal and humbling. We’re really thrilled to announce Landor as the latest iconic scheme to join the fleet as part of our centenary celebrations and we’re sure this excitement will be reflected around the world.”
The Landor, BEA and BOAC heritage liveries are part of a special series to mark British Airways’ centenary, as the airline celebrates its past while looking to the future. One final replica design will be revealed in due course, while all new aircraft entering the fleet, including the A350, will continue to receive today’s Chatham Dockyard design.
