The ‘saved’ British Airways Boeing 747 in BOAC livery may be scrapped

When British Airways decided to scrap its remaining fleet of 31 Boeing 747 aircraft during the pandemic, four were given a new lease of life.

(We published a fascinating history of the British Airways Boeing 747 fleet at the time which you can read here.)

It looks like one of those four remaining aircraft may have reached the end of the runway.

Of the four aircraft that were saved:

• G-BNLY, which was painted in the 1980’s Landor livery, went to Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey

• G-CIVW, which has the current Chatham Dockyard livery, was also given to Dunsfold – these aircraft are being used for TV and film work

• G-CIVB went to Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire and is being used as a conference and events venue

• G-BYGC, with the heritage BOAC livery, went to the Bro Tathan business park in the Vale of Glamorgan (a business park with a 1,800m operational runway!)

It is this last aircraft, pictured above, which is now allegedly at risk.

The plan was that G-BYGC would be maintained as a heritage piece by aviation specialists ecube. This aircraft is currently painted in the BOAC ‘Gold Speedbird’ livery used between 1963 and 1974.

According to a report in UK Aviation News, which we have not been able to verify, ecube is believed to be planning to scrap the aircraft for spare parts.

ecube’s core business is breaking up old aircraft for spare parts – and according to its website it broke up 18 of the retired Boeing 747 aircraft.

However, G-BYGC was sold to ecube on the basis that it had a preservation plan in place. It has apparently been unable to secure funding to do this. The original plan was to open it to the public after essential work had been done.

British Airways said at the time that:

it will be maintained as a heritage piece by aviation specialists eCube Solutions [now ecube] to showcase the pre-eminent contribution British Airways’ 747 fleet made to UK aviation.

Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways, was quoted as saying:

“While we will miss seeing them grace our skies, we are delighted to have found permanent homes for our remaining centenary 747 aircraft.

“We think they have great historical importance, not only to British Airways but to the entire aviation industry, and we are pleased they will be preserved for future generations in locations in the UK.”

The South Wales Aviation Museum already operates from the same site, albeit under separate ownership, so it would be a shame to see G-BYGC disappear. Perhaps British Airways, now back in financial health, could step in and underwrite the necessary repairs before transferring ownership to the mueseum?

We will keep an eye on developments and let you know.

---

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.