British Airways have unveiled a BOAC Boeing 747 in retro colours to celebrate their 100th birthday. After painting in Dublin, the aircraft arrived in London Heathrow today looking very good.
This will be the first of four aircraft to be painted for the birthday celebrations. It is expected that the 1974 Negus livery will be on one aircraft, the 1985 Landor scheme on another, while the 1960s BEA colours will round out the quartet.
The Original BOAC Boeing 747
Sometimes it is easy to forget how revolutionary the jumbo jet was. More than twice the size of the other jet aircraft at the time, it turned heads wherever it went.
Below is a very short news piece on the introduction of the aircraft with BOAC. Due to industrial action, it took more than a year for it to enter service.
In the beginning, airlines had lounges on the upper deck, as can be seen in the short video. Cocktail lounges upstairs these days have been replaced by passenger seats.
According to stories from the time, serving that many people their meals was a challenge. Pan Am stewards and stewardesses recall other airlines sent their staff on flights to see how they did it, to take hints and tips for when they had the aircraft themselves.
Overall Thoughts
The BOAC Boeing 747 will be around until 2023, when G-BYGC is scheduled to be retired. With the wind down of the fleet in progress, this will be during the year prior to British Airways withdrawing the beloved jumbo from its fleet.
Depending on your point of view, it is either fortunate or unfortunate that the interior remains consistent with the current BA fleet. Either way, having this rock up to the gate to take you on your trip will be a treat.
Did you ever fly on the Boeing 747 at BOAC back in the 1970s or 1980s? What do you think of the new retro aircraft? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by captainflorent on Instagram.
