Credit: BA media /  Boeing 747 in the Negus design G-CIVB Rolling Out of Dublin Airport Mar. 21, 2019  (Iain White – Fennell Photography)

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

The fourth and final British Airways aircraft in a heritage livery  touched down at Heathrow last Thursday morning, BA reported.  The Boeing 747 adorns the Negus design which was originally on the British Airways fleet from 1974-1980. The special series of designs have been introduced to mark British Airways’ centenary, as the airline celebrates its past while looking to the future. Alongside the heritage liveries, all new aircraft entering the fleet, including the A350, will continue to receive today’s Chatham Dockyard design.  The Negus-liveried 747-400, registration G-CIVB, entered the IAC paint bay at Dublin Airport earlier this month where it was painted with the first version of the Negus livery which adorned the British Airways fleet from 1974-1980, directly after the merger of BOAC and BEA and the formation of the airline that customers know today. The aircraft  headed  to Cape Town Thursday for its first commercial flight in its retro design.

 “Reintroducing four heritage designs in to our fleet has been an incredibly nostalgic time for us and our customers, we’re impressed at how popular they’ve been.  In our centenary year it’s important that we celebrate our past, and we also have big plans to look to the future. I’m excited about what the rest of this year has in store.”

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO.

Watch  The British Airways – Boeing  Negus 747  Arrival  At  London  Heatrhrow 

Credit: British Airways /BA  Boeing  747 Negus  arrives into London Heathrow  from Dublin Mar. 21, 2019.

• This is the fourth British Airways aircraft in a heritage livery to enter service following a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) liveried Boeing 747, a British European Airways (BEA) Airbus 319 and a British Airways Landor 747, which are already in the skies
• Aircraft being painted to mark British Airways’ centenary

Credit: Photo by Stuart Bailey /  The fourth and final BA Heritage heritage livery aircraft lands at Heathrow.

When it initially flew, the Negus livery was the first to carry “British Airways” since 1939, when the original British Airways Limited merged with Imperial Airways to form BOAC.  However, the Union Flag is not present on the side of the aircraft as, like the final BEA aircraft livery, the flag began to be fully celebrated on the aircraft’s tailfin instead.