Oct 6, 20202 min read

A Final Farewell to the British Airways Boeing 747!

I had the pleasure of working with British Airways as their in-house photographer from June 2015 until December 2019 when I was made redundant and started my own London based commercial and advertising photography business.

I will always have love for the company, brand, and the people of British Airways, and the aircraft of course!

One aircraft though has always been my favourite, ever since I was a young boy, and that's of course the Boeing 747, the Jumbo Jet, the Queen of the Skies!

British Airways are retiring every single one of their Boeing 747s due to COVID-19, which is a massive shame, and I'm sure will it will leave a big hole in a lot of peoples hearts, especially the aviation geeks and fans out there.

During my time at BA, I spent a lot of time flying on the 747 and also taking pictures of them.

I flew on the 747 countless times, mostly to New York JFK, but also to Cape Town South Africa. I spent many a day photographing on them too, and sometimes I would have the entire aircraft to myself while working at British Airways which was pretty cool!

Today (8th October 2020), British Airways are flying their final two Boeing 747's out of London Heathrow Airport to their retirement.

Below are a selection of my favourite photographs of the aircraft that I've taken.

They're not necessarily the best photographs in terms of technical photography, but they mean the most to me in terms of the memories and emotions the photographs bring to me.

Here's an excerpt from BA's Press Release from 7th October 2020 about the occasion:

"To commemorate G-CIVB and G-CIVY’s final take-off from the airport at 08:30am, the airline has arranged a special send off with a unique and rarely seen synchronised dual take off on parallel runways*, which will be followed by fly past along the southerly runway by one of the aircraft (G-CIVY in current BA livery) as it bids its home a final farewell.

Celebrating the occasion in a virtual way to keep spectators safe, the airline will be live streaming moments from the departure on its Facebook page and is also inviting its colleagues, aviation enthusiasts and customers to share any special memories or photos of British Airways’ 747s on social media channels at 7:47am and 7.47pm on their departure day using the hashtag #BA747farewell.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said “Tomorrow will be a difficult day for everybody at British Airways as the aircraft leaves our home at Heathrow for the very last time. We will pay tribute to them for the incredible part they have played in our 100-year history and to the millions of customers and BA colleagues who have flown on board and taken care of them.

“We hope that Britain will join us in sharing their memories with us on social media at 7:47am and 7.47pm on Thursday using #BA747farewell.”"