British Airways has unveiled plans for its second retro livery, as part of the carrier’s centenary celebrations.
Earlier this week a British Airways B747 jumbo painted in BOAC colours arrived at Heathrow for the first time, and the airline has now confirmed that the next in the series will be an Airbus A319 featuring the British European Airways (BEA) livery.
The aircraft will enter a paint bay at Shannon airport this weekend, before flying to Heathrow for the unveiling next month.
It will feature a BEA livery which flew “predominantly on domestic and European routes between 1959 and 1968”, but the carrier notes that due to current wing paint reflectivity requirements, the aircraft will feature a grey upper wing, rather than the red used previously.
The repainted A319 will operate on UK and European services until it is retired next year, and can be tracked on FlightRadar24, where it will be depicted using a special image.
There has been speculation on our forum as to which other retro liveries will be given a new lease of life – poster JohnnyG correctly said that an A319 would be given the BEA livery, and they state that the final two retro liveries will be painted on B747 aircraft, in the carrier’s NEGUS and LANDOR colour schemes.
Commenting on the news Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said:
“There’s been plenty of speculation about our next heritage livery, so it’s great to finally be able to make this exciting announcement. BEA is an important part of our history, and many customers and colleagues will have fond memories flying on its aircraft.
We’re sure this latest livery will bring back a flood of emotions and pride in not only British Airways, but the UK’s impressive aviation history – and what better time to do that than in our centenary year as we celebrate our past and look to the future. I can’t wait to see this classic design taking back to the skies.”
British Airways traces its history back to August 1919, when Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited launched the world’s first daily international scheduled air service, between London and Paris. A potted history of the airline can be seen here.
The carrier is also set to unveil new uniforms this year, designed by British designer Ozwald Boateng OBE.
