The final BA Boeing 747s depart Heathrow on Thursday – but one will be preserved

Heathrow will see the final take-off of a British Airways Boeing 747 on Thursday with the departure of the last two planes.

The two aircraft involved are the Negus-painted G-CIVB and G-CIVY, which has BA’s ‘normal’ Chatham Dockyard livery.

Pending any weather changes, the aircraft will get a special send off with a synchronised dual take off from Heathrow’s parallel runways at 8:30am on Thursday morning.

This will be followed by fly past along the southerly runway by one of the aircraft (G-CIVY in current BA livery).

This would normally be impossible, of course, with a take-off or landing every 90 seconds, but at the moment….

British Airways will be live streaming the event from 7:40am on its Facebook page, and is encouraging people to use the hashtag #BA747farewell on social media at 7:47am and 7:47pm. You should also be able to watch the event on BBC and Sky.

We will either update this article with any photos we receive or, depending on when the arrive, do a separate article for Friday. The BBC and Sky crews are the only media to be invited.

Both aircraft are due to head to Cotsworld Airport, formerly RAF Kemble, in Gloucestershire for storage.

British Airways 747 G-CIVB

Service entry	February 15, 1994
Retirement date	September 08, 2020
Recent routes	Last passenger flight was 6th April 2020 from Miami to Heathrow.
Livery	Negus
Fact and stats	G-CIVB flew 118,445 hours across 13,398 flights spanning 59 million miles.

British Airways 747 G-CIVY

Service entry	September 29, 1998
Retirement date	September 08, 2020
Recent routes	Last passenger flight was 20th March 2020 from Chicago to Heathrow
Livery	Chatham Dockyard
Fact and stats	G-CIVY flew 90,161 hours across 11,034 flights spanning 45 million miles

Catch up on our Boeing 747 articles

It was back in July that we found out that the Boeing 747 fleet was heading for early retirement as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. You can read our original article on the news here.

We followed up with a two-part story detailing the events that lead to the design and development of the 747 at Boeing in the 1960s as well as an article on the history of the Boeing 747 at British Airways.

British Airways to preserve one Boeing 747?

Rumours have been swirling of one 747 being preserved for posterity.

Simple Flying suggests that G-CIVB, the Negus liveried aircraft, will not be sent for scrap. Whether it stays in Kemble at Cotswold Airport long term remains to be seen, although it will only remain airworthy for a limited period without preventative maintenance.

The remaining British Airways Concorde is parked at Heathrow and is inaccessible to the public. Perhaps retaining the Boeing 747 will encourage it to finally arrange public access to both aircraft.

---

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

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.

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