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The British Airways repainted BOAC Boeing 747 aircraft takes off

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BA’s repainted BOAC Boeing 747 has taken off.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

British Airways launched its first repainted aircraft yesterday, one of a handful of classic liveries that will be applied to selected planes this year as part of BA’s 100th birthday celebrations.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

It uses the livery of the British Overseas Airways Corporation.

This is one of two airlines that merged in 1974 to create the current British Airways.  This livery was used between 1964 and 1974.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

I have slotted photos from the launch yesterday throughout this article.

The plane will retain the paintwork until it is retired in 2023.  Its first flight will be BA117 to New York today.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

And, it has to be said, it looks good.  Given the improvements in painting technology in the last 50 years, I am sure that the livery never looked as impressive when it was originally used.  Click on any image to enlarge.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Comments (159)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Nick M says:

    Another OT – does transferring MR to Eurostar reset the 2 year clock?

    (and how strict are they with names?)

  • Vasco says:

    OT: Just got my Amex Plat. Do I need to enroll in Priority Pass, or will Amex do it automatically?

  • Liz says:

    OT Are there any issues, travel insurance wise or anything else wise, if you book a cruise via a USA website rather than a UK website? Was playing around with quotes for a future Alaskan cruise with Royal Caribbean last night and the costs for the same trip at the same time on the same boat were about £400 cheaper per couple even with the current bad exchange rate.
    Has anyone used their Tesco Clubcard vouchers for a cruise. I take it you wouldn’t get your vouchers back if you had to cancel.

    • Alan says:

      No issues with insurance. You will, obviously, not qualify for any offers that may be running on the UK site but that’s about it. One plus point is that any deposit you pay is fully refundable should you change your mind.

      We booked a Royal Caribbean cruise via a US travel agent (Vacationstogo) a couple of years ago. Cruise departed and returned to Southampton – no issues with the booking at all.

    • xcalx says:

      Royal Caribbean booked on US sites is not fully refundable anymore. It changed last year you now have the option of non refundable deposit or fully refundable deposit usually a few hundred dollars per person extra for fully refundable. Non refundable deposits can be applied to another cruise for a fee $100 per person.

    • xcalx says:

      I have booked 5 cruises with Royal Caribbean using Tesco points (only when cheaper than US agents). Its a lot easier now as you can input the voucher online. I always check prices both side of the pond as prices do vary hugely. cruisecompetedotcom is a good site as US agents compete for your booking sometimes offering extra OBC or other perks. As above vacationstogo is a great site for checking cruise prices, crucon is also has great prices but the website is too cluttered when searching so know which cruise you want before checking prices.

      Cant wait for my 3 seven nighters out of San Juan in May (2 with Tesco points courtesy of 3V)

      • Liz says:

        Thanks both I will take a note of those sites and research more. I have just finished my research for next years trip which is Hawaii, Seattle, Washington state including the San Juan area and Oregon. Also looking at the cruise and Canadian Rockies for the following year. Itching to get road tripping again!
        If you had to cancel a Tesco cruise would you get to keep the cruise credit? Or is it non refundable. I have lots of CC pts and would like to offset some of the cost but with elderly in-laws we always need to be refundable.

        • Ted says:

          One other thing to bear in mind is that US web prices do not include taxes etc, usually adds about 20% to their cost..

        • BT1 says:

          Hi Liz,
          If you are doing the Canadian Rockies, do you intend to go on the Mountaineer Train?
          I looked into booking it direct with their website vs a travel agent it was £2,000 cheaper with a travel agent.
          Discover the World do packaged tours are they are good.

  • MDA says:

    OT: first time filing a curve chargeback, no response since 2 days, should i chase? how long shoud l expect for a reply from curve, their CS is already appalling

    • the_real_a says:

      I have two tickets open for over 2 weeks now on general non urgent issues – i can imagine they are inundated with enquirers. As for chargebacks since they are time sensitive i would be tempted to give them a call 0203 322 2585.

  • Lee says:

    On both of my plat

    • Qwerty Bertie says:

      Thanks Lee.

      Now the cynical part of me wonders whether we have been excluded because we used it on three cards last time…

  • Rob says:

    Gut feeling is that it WILL trigger on advanced purchase but you don’t have a leg to stand on if it doesn’t.

    • Katy says:

      Thanks Rob. Is it for one transaction or if I book a number of advance purchase bookings would this trigger it too?
      Thanks for your help!

      • Rob says:

        Hilton offers in the past have been cumulative – I have had payouts myself on cumulative spend. No guarantees etc.

  • Steve Smithson says:

    O/T: does anyone know what size the PJs are in BA F? I’m on BA5 to NRT at the end of March.

  • John Caribbean says:

    OT

    If I book a BA reward flight return, CE one way and economy the other, do I get to keep the CE baggage allowance for both legs?

    Also, if I did the first leg as a reward, and the booked the return separately as a cash HBO, can I then get the flights linked, and retain the baggage allowance as above?

    Thanks

    • Shoestring says:

      yes & no in that order

    • Rob says:

      Not any longer – it changed a while back

      • Shoestring says:

        You’re right – shame. Here’s another one which might not work in your favour:
        [When you fly in more than one cabin on a connecting journey, the baggage allowance for the most significant sector will apply to the whole journey, which is usually the longest flight.
        Example
        If you fly from Dubai to London in Club World and then connect from London to Rome in Euro Traveller, each flight will have a different baggage allowance. You will be given the baggage allowance for the longest flight which is the Dubai, Club World sector for the whole of your connecting journey.]

        • Boris says:

          A big watch on this kind of thing is Emirates with their recent baggage policy change you could end up with a reduced allowance on your return flight and having to pay £30 per kg difference!

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