British Airways (BA) bid a farewell to its Boeing 747-400 aircraft stored at Cardiff Airport (CWL), the United Kingdom. The iconic jumbo jet, also known as Victor Foxtrot, was officially retired on October 25, 2020, after almost 26 years spent in passenger flight service.
According to Planespotters.com data, before being stored at Cardiff Airport (CWL), the Queen of the Skies, registered as G-CIVF, was withdrawn from operations on April 6, 2020. The Victor Foxtrot completed its very last transatlantic passenger flight from Dallas International Airport (DFW) to Heathrow Airport (LHR) on March 20, 2020, outlined BA.
Being owned by only one air carrier, the G-CIVF, painted in historic Dockyard Chatham livery, entered passenger flight service in 1995. While being equipped to accommodate a total of 275 seats in four travel classes, the Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet had offered its passengers 14 seats in First Class, 86 seats in Business Class, and 175 seats in Premium and Economy Class.
The recent update on Flightware.com showed that on October 25, 2020, G-CIVF wide-body took off for the last time from its storage in CWL and landed at Cornwall Airport (NQY), where it is supposed to be scrapped.
However, one of BA’s jumbo jets, the G-CIVB, would face a more cheerful fate than its kinsman Victor Foxtrot. As the British air carrier reported on October 26, 2020, the G-CIVB, painted in the Negus livery, would be rearranged partly into a cinema as well as into a private rental place and be placed permanently at Cotswold Airport (GBA) in England.
With the last farewell with Victor Foxtrot, BA continues to implement its early retirement plan of the whole Boeing 747 fleet that was brought forward due to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the airline.