British Airways reveals its ‘Negus’ Boeing 747 retro livery

The final British Airways aircraft to receive a retro livery as part of the ‘BA 100’ celebrations has been unveiled.

A Boeing 747 has been painted in the ‘Negus’ design which was originally used from 1974 to 1980.  This was the first livery used by the newly formed British Airways following the merger of BOAC and BEA and represented the first time since 1938 that an aircraft had carried the ‘British Airways’ name.

The red tail fin was a riff on the red BEA logo which you can see on another of the retro liveries now in use.  The white and blue fuselage, on the other hand, harks back to the BOAC livery.  Negus was an attempt to keep passengers of both airlines happy.

The aircraft will retain this livery until it is retired in 2022.

I was hoping to see it on Thursday from the Malaysia Airlines lounge in Terminal 4, where I spent the morning, but it was a little late arriving.  I DID get to see the BOAC repainted Boeing 747 in the flesh, which does look impressive.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 26th September 2024, sign up for FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and you will receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Avios. This is double the usual bonus! You only need to spend £1,000 within 90 days. Our full review is here. Click here to apply.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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