British Airways seemingly U-turned its decision to scrap two Boeing 747 aircraft, which bore the retro Landor and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), and instead will preserve them for the long-term.
The two Boeing 747s, painted in Landor (registered as G-BNLY) and BOAC (registered as G-BYGC) were due to be shipped to the scrapyard in December 2020. The fate of the aircraft was decided following the earlier than planned retirement of the whole 747 fleet by British Airways in July 2020. Three Queens of the Skies, including the Negus livered wide-body (registered as G-CIVB) were painted in the retro liveries to celebrate the 100th birthday of British Airways and companies associated with the airline.
While G-CIVB, adorned with the Negus colors from the 1970s and 1980s, found a second life at Cotswold Airport (GBA) in the United Kingdom as a conference center and a cinema, the same could not be said about G-BNLY or G-BYGC. Users on social media even started a campaign titled #SaveLandor for British Airways to reconsider their decision in late-November 2020.
“We continue to explore all options for our iconic heritage Landor 747 aircraft. No final decision on its future has been made,” in a statement to AeroTime News stated a British Airways representative on November 26, 2020.
Seemingly, the campaign struck a chord, as both the Landor and BOAC 747s would be preserved. The former will live on in Dunsfold Aerodrome (FAA) “as a permanent exhibit,” according to British Airways press release, while the latter will see the rest of its days at Bro Tathan business park in Wales, United Kingdom.
“It will be maintained as a heritage piece by aviation specialists eCube Solutions to showcase the pre-eminent contribution British Airways’ 747 fleet made to UK aviation,” read the airline’s statement.
“We think they have great historical importance, not only to British Airways but to the entire aviation industry, and we are pleased they will be preserved for future generations in locations in the UK,” commented on the decision newly-enacted Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sean Doyle.
“As the final 747s to leave our fleet, their departure will be an emotional moment for former and current British Airways staff, including our engineering team in Cardiff who have lovingly looked after our jumbo jets for decades,” Doyle added.