British Airways to paint aircraft in retro colours for 100th birthday

British Airways are celebrating their centenary in 2019 and to celebrate, they are painting a number of aircraft in retro colours. These kinds of colour schemes are common among long established airlines and are quite popular with employees and the public alike.

Airlines such as KLM, Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Qantas and many more have all done this. It is quite fun to arrive at the airport and appear to be going back to the future.

BOAC Boeing 747-400 Retro Colours

The first aircraft getting retro colours is Boeing 747-436 registered G-BYGC. Currently being painted in Dublin, it will arrive at London Heathrow on 18 February.

BOAC was British Overseas Airways Corporation which, along with British European Airways or BEA, formed British Airways in 1974. This was the first scheme worn on the jumbo at the airline and the retro aircraft is planned to stay until the fleet is retired in 2023.

Other Possibilities

Happily, the press release from BA states this is just the first one. Further aircraft in retro colours will be unveiled throughout the year.

Will we perhaps see a BEA livery such as the one above? I think an Airbus A320 with the red wings would look pretty decent. Perhaps one is going to be the much respected Landor scheme from the mid-1980s onwards, as seen below on a Lockheed TriStar. Also possible are some of the other airlines that comprise the current British Airways. For example, Dan-Air London was purchased by BA in 1992. The red and white would look great today! Other options would be British Caledonian (who originally ordered the Airbus A320s that went to BA) and of course BMI. There are a lot of different choices available.

Overall Thoughts

What better way to celebrate 100 years than to paint up some aircraft in your old colours! These will be eye catching at the airport and get people talking about your brand, which is hopefully a good thing.

Do you think these retro colours are a good idea? Perhaps you have some suggestions as to what BA might do? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via British Airways.
BEA Trident image via BAE Systems.
British Airways TriStar by Michel Gilliand via Wikimedia Commons.
Dan-Air London Comet 4 by by Piergiuliano Chesi via Wikimedia Commons.