The fortunes of British Airways Boeing 747 fleet turned for the worst very fast. While the British airline initially planned to retire the Queens in 2024, the current pandemic derailed the plans. Yet some enthusiasts are trying to save the retro-livered aircraft, namely the 747 painted in the Landor livery to celebrate the 100th birthday of British Airways.
The aircraft in question is a British Airways Boeing 747-400 (registered as G-BNLY). The Jumbo Jet, delivered to the airline in 1993, joined the centenary festivities in March 2019, when it was repainted into the Landor livery. The paint scheme was previously used as the default livery between 1984 and 1997, meaning that the G-BNLY was initially delivered in the then-default paint scheme.
In 1997, the airline began to phase out the Landor, named after the brand consulting agency that designed the paint scheme and replaced it with the Chatham Dockyard livery across its fleet.
Nevertheless, celebrating its 100th anniversary, British Airways brought back several of the old liveries on its Boeing 747-400s, namely the old British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), Negus and Landor paint schemes.
While the Boeing 747 (registered as G-CIVB), bearing the Negus livery, was saved from being scrapped, the same could not be said about the BOAC and Landor Queens. Reportedly, British Airways plans to scrap the latter, while the former could be preserved.
In a statement to AeroTime News, a British Airways spokesperson commented that the airline was exploring all available options regarding the Landor-bearing 747. “No final decision on its future has been made.”
However, some enthusiasts are hopeful to save the G-BNLY from potentially becoming just a heap of metal.
“If you ask any aviation enthusiast, they say that this livery should be the one used on all aircraft, it screams British aviation and it will be a sad day if it cannot be saved and displayed to the general public,” told AeroTime News Glenn Eldridge, one of the people behind #SaveLandor initiative.
The AvGeeks have been in touch with multiple airports across the United Kingdom to find a permanent home for the Boeing 747.