See photos and video of yesterday’s BA Boeing 747 retirement – and take our BA 747 quiz

Yesterday marked the final departure of the final two British Airways Boeing 747s from Heathrow Airport as the aircraft enter retirement.

Whilst the two aircraft were due to make a dual synchronised take-off, inclement weather meant that this was not possible. There was extremely poor visibility, reduced by the drizzle and very low lying clouds.

Instead, G-CIVB lifted off at 8:40am and G-CIVY followed one minute later, managing to complete its flyover of the runway at 1000 feet.

The aircraft headed to different destinations – one to Cotswold Airport at Kemble and one to St Athan Airport in Wales – where they are being stored until their final fate, scrap or sale, is decided.

The weather wasn’t good in the Cotswolds either with winds of 20+ knots, which meant that G-CIVB had to circle seven times before finally making an approach.

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.

Join us on Instagram for a BA Boeing 747 quiz

To mark the occasion we thought it would be fun to host a BA Boeing 747 quiz on our Instagram story this afternoon. You can follow us @HeadForPoints or by clicking here.

The quiz will be on our story from midday. Here is your starter for 10 – In which James Bond film was a British Airways Boeing 747 First Class cabin featured?

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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.