British Airways last Boeing 747 takeoff this morning (8th) from London Heathrow to be retired

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The British Airways airline has prepared a “share” with takeoff in live broadcast for users of social networks where they are also all invited to share their memories of the aircraft on Thursday using the hashtag: #BA747farewell. Read with all the details and some curiosities about the Boeing 747 on the airline.T

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British Airways announced that its last two Boeing 747-400 aircraft that were on the ground at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) left the airport for the last time on the morning of Thursday, October 8, 2020. One of the aircraft is G-CIVB registration — painted in its 'Negus' livery heritage and the other is the aircraft with the G-CIVY registration which has the current painting of the airline dubbed “Chatham Dockyard”.

 

Thousands of British Airways flight crew, cabin crew and engineering teams have worked over several decades on and with the aircraft during their time at British Airways during a period when they represented the heart of the airline’s long-haul fleet.

 

To commemorate the retirement takeoff of the G-CIVB and G-CIVY from the airport, British performed a live broadcast at 8:30 am (local time), during a special takeoff with a unique and rarely seen view — the two planes takeoff flying at along the south lane. One of the aircraft (the G-CIVY in the current livery ba) said goodbye to his home by making a low pass over Heathrow.

 

Celebrating the occasion in a virtual way to keep spectators safe, the airline has made available the live broadcast of the moment of departure on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/britishairways) and is also inviting all the public, aviation enthusiasts and customers to share any special memories or photos of British Airways' Boeing 747-400 on social media on October 8, 2020 at 7:47 am and 7:47 pm (local time) using the hashtag # BA747farewell.

 

Alex Cruz, President and CEO of British Airways, said: "October 8, 2020 is a difficult day for everyone at British Airways, as the aircraft left our home in Heathrow for the last time".

 

In a note, British Airways expects the last 747 (currently deployed in Wales) to leave the fleet by the end of the year.

 

Curiosities about the Boeing 747 registration G-CIVB:

Boeing 747-400 registration G-CIVB operated by British Airways with commemorative painting.
Photo © British Airways - Disclosure.

• Date it went into operation: February 15, 1994

• Retirement Date: September 8, 2020

• Popular / recent routes: The last passenger flight was on April 6, 2020 from Miami to Heathrow

• Current painting: Negus

• Previous painting: Landor and was named 'City of Litchfield'

• Number of Operated Flights: 13,398 flights

• Number of Hours Flights: 118,445 hours

• Flight in range: 59 million miles

 

Curiosities about the Boeing 747 registration G-CIVY:

 

• Date it went into operation: September 29, 1998

• Retirement Date: September 8, 2020

• Popular / Recent routes: March 20, 2020 last passenger flight from Chicago to Heathrow April 5, 2020 last freighter flight from Dallas to Heathrow

• Number of Operated Flights: 11,034 flights

• Number of Hours Flights: 90,161 hours

• Flights in range: 45 million miles

 

Boeing 747 facts and curiosities

 

• Boeing has been producing the Boeing 747 for more than 50 years;

• BOAC flew its first Boeing 747 for the first time on April 14, 1971; British Airways did receive its first Boeing 747-400 in July 1989 and received its last in April 1999;

• At its peak, the British Airways airline had a fleet of 57 Boeing 747-400 aircraft;

• British Airways is currently the world's largest operator of 747-400 aircraft;

• The average age of British Airways' fleet is 23 years;

• The Boeing 747-400 is 1.80 (6 ft) tall at the tips of its wings to improve efficiency;

• It has 18 wheels (16 on the main landing gear located in the “belly” region of the plane and two wheels on the triquet, located on the nose);

• The wings of the Boeing 747-400 are 64.92 meters (213 ft) long enough to accommodate 50 parked cars;

• The tail height of the Boeing 747 is 19.5 meters (64 ft), the equivalent of a six-story building;

• The Boeing 747-400 is 70.40 meters (231 ft) long.

Notes:

* The takeoff may change in the day regarding the weather in the place.