British Airways Saves the 'Queen of the Skies’

British Airways is saving the 'Queen of the Skies’ for the future generation, but it’s not exactly what you may be thinking.

Well, the airline’s Boeing 747 will continue to inspire aviation enthusiasts for years to come, after permanent homes have been found for its remaining retro-liveried Boeing 747 aircraft.

This month, G-BNLY and G-BYGC will depart from British Airways’ engineering base in Cardiff for their new homes. The pair was among several aircraft painted in heritage liveries to mark the airline’s centenary last year.

Adorned in the iconic Landor livery, G-BNLY has been given a new lease of life as a permanent exhibit at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey. It will join its sister 747, G-CIVW, which was retired in late October and features the current Chatham Dockyard livery.

G-BYGC, painted in the BOAC ‘Gold Speedbird’ livery, will make the short journey from Cardiff Airport to the Bro Tathan business park in the Vale of Glamorgan. 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.

G-BNLY and G-BYGC are the last two British Airways 747s to be retired, with G-BYGC being the final 747 to leave the British Airways fleet. The Negus-liveried 747, registration G-CIVB, was one of the last two 747s to depart Heathrow Airport in October and has also been found a permanent home at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire.