British Airways has unveiled the final design in its series of retro liveries as part of its centenary celebrations.
This time, it's a Boeing 747 painted with the Negus livery, which adorned the BA fleet from 1974-1980 directly after the merger of BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA (British European Airways).
On its initial flights, it was the first time an aircraft had carried "British Airways" since 1939, when the original British Airways Limited merged with Imperial Airways to form BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation).
The Boeing 747-400, with the registration code G-CIVB, has entered the Dublin Airport paint bay and will return to London Heathrow later this month to enter service.
Coming soon and just announced...... B747-400 G-CIVB will be returning to the skies in the original version of the Negus & Negus livery, created for British Airways in 1974 upon the merger of BOAC, BEA, Cambrian and Northeast. #BA100 pic.twitter.com/2r3bEQXNYK
— BAretrojets (@BAretrojets) March 14, 2019
The design will remain on the aircraft until it retires in 2022.
"It’s particularly significant for us because it’s the first design worn by the British Airways that we all know today, with the distinctive lower case ‘a’ and the Union Flag on the tailfin," said Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and chief executive.
The Negus will join three other aircraft complete with special liveries.
The first was the BOAC livery used from 1964 to 1974, which was painted on to a Boeing 747 and entered service last month.
Next came the repainting of an Airbus A319 in the British European Airways livery, which was originally used between 1959 and 1968.
With @British_Airways confirming the Negus livery is next for the 747, I thought I’d post this picture that I took of the last time we saw it in the skies, back in 2010 on a 757 as part of BA retiring their 757 fleet.
— Tom @ TDL 🏴⚽️ (@TheDepLoungeYT) March 14, 2019
It looked beautiful then, and will do again😍 #BA100 pic.twitter.com/UR8hJU5raV
This was then followed by the Landor design on a Boeing 747 to mark the period between 1984-1997. The plane has also been re-named "City of Swansea", as the Landor livery aircraft was originally called.
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50 years of the Boeing 747 - in pictures
