Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Here is the British Airways official Boeing 747 statement and some great vintage photos

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Yesterday we broke the news that British Airways intends to retire its entire fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft in the coming months, four years earlier than planned.

British Airways has now provided us with a full press release including some excellent vintage photographs of the 747 in service during its time at BA.

Here is the official wording from British Airways:

Today (Friday July 17, 2020) British Airways announces, with great sadness, that its fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft, fondly known as ‘The Queen of the Skies’, are likely to have flown their last scheduled commercial service.

After nearly five decades of service and millions of miles flown around the globe, it is proposed that the airline’s remaining fleet of 31 747-400 aircraft will be retired with immediate effect as a result of the devastating impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the airline and the aviation sector, which is not predicted to recover to 2019 levels until 2023/24.

Just a year ago, British Airways lovingly re-painted four of its jumbo jets in heritage colours to mark the company’s centenary. The BOAC jet put in a guest appearance with the Red Arrows much to the delight of spectators at the Royal International Air Tattoo, and sadly the aircraft will shortly be heading towards its final resting place alongside 30 others.

The fuel-hungry aircraft were slowly being phased out by British Airways as they reached the end of their working life in order to help meet the company’s commitment to net zero by 2050. The airline has invested heavily in new, modern long-haul aircraft including six A350s and 32 787s which are around 25 per cent more fuel-efficient than the 747. As part of the airline’s £6.5 billion injection into customer experience in recent years, existing aircraft have been refurbished and the brand new arrivals have come into the British Airways’ fleet complete with a luxurious business class Club Suite product.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “This is not how we wanted or expected to have to say goodbye to our incredible fleet of 747 aircraft. It is a heart-breaking decision to have to make. So many people, including many thousands of our colleagues past and present, have spent countless hours on and with these wonderful planes – they have been at the centre of so many memories, including my very first long-haul flight. They will always hold a special place in our hearts at British Airways.

“We have committed to making our fleet more environmentally friendly as we look to reduce the size of our business to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation.  As painful as it is, this is the most logical thing for us to propose. The retirement of the jumbo jet will be felt by many people across Britain, as well as by all of us at British Airways.  It is sadly another difficult but necessary step as we prepare for a very different future.”

BOAC operated its first 747 London to New York service on 14th April 1971 and in July 1989 the first British Airways 747-400, the aircraft type the airline still flies today, took to the skies.

Plane spotters who lined Heathrow’s perimeter fences would watch as the magnificent 747-400 would typically take off at 180mph and reach cruising speeds in the sky of up to 565mph.

For the next decade the airline took delivery of 56 more of the aircraft, with its final plane delivered in April 1989. At the time, it was the largest commercial aircraft in the world, and it remained so until the Airbus A380 first took to the skies in 2007.

At one point British Airways operated 57 747-400 aircraft. The original aircraft featured 27 First Class seats and 292 Economy seats. Initially, the upper deck, widely described as the bubble, contained a lounge, with lounge chair seating. It was known as the ‘club in the sky’ and the aircraft also played host to the world’s very first flat bed seat which British Airways pioneered in 1999.

Today’s aircraft can seat up to 345 customers in four classes – First, Club World (Business), World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) and World Traveller (Economy).  British Airways recently refreshed the interiors of a number of its 747 aircraft which were expected to remain in service for several years to come.

The airline’s jumbo jets are currently grounded at various locations in the UK and are now only expected to reach heights of 35,000 feet as they make their final journeys.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (32)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Jordan D says:
    17 Jul17 July 11:44

    No farewell flights mentioned. Typical Alex Cruz.

    • Rhys says:
      17 Jul17 July 11:47

      I don’t blame them – last time they tried to fly 747s domestically there was an uproar from people like Extinction Rebellion. BA have enough bad press at the moment with redundancies as it is without stirring the pot further!

      • memesweeper says:
        17 Jul17 July 12:08

        Correct Rhys, spending money burning fuel for a farewell is not going to sit well alongside mass redundancies.

        • Spaghetti Town says:
          17 Jul17 July 12:18

          Shame. Concorde got a proper send off.

          • ChrisC says:
            17 Jul17 July 13:32

            Concorde was special. Almost bespoke and never surpassed.

            747 is mass produced and has been surpassed.

            I really don’t get the grief people seem to be experiencing. It’s a plane and flew people from A to B. That’s it.

          • Mark says:
            17 Jul17 July 18:38

            I’d say two reasons:

            1) The 747, unlike any other commercial passenger jet, has scope for seating in areas that feel more private, i.e. the nose and the upper deck. Nothing else compares in that regard.

            2) The very fact that it has been in production for 50 years means that a lot of people will have flown on them and will have memories (fond or otherwise) of doing so, unlike Concorde which is clearly special for somewhat different reasons.

            For me it’s the memory of my first ever long-haul flight on the upper deck of a BA 747-400 on the way to Chicago in July 2001, the only time I ever got to go in the cockpit during a flight.

            So yes, in many ways it has been surpassed, but not in the ways that made it a favourite for many such as those of us who for many years made a point of flying on BA’s 747 services in preference to the 777 even though the 777 was newer and more advanced.

          • Chris Heyes says:
            17 Jul17 July 19:02

            Spaghetti Town@ Concorde was an “iicon” 747s should have gone years ago
            Thank goodness its finally going (first was fine, even business was fine)
            but if you ever traveled in economy (we have once, never again) lol
            But maybe it was designed to make sure customers only traveled in economy the once lol

          • Paul says:
            18 Jul18 July 14:15

            Yep if you call being cut up and sailed for the Thames on a barge a great send off!

        • guesswho2000 says:
          17 Jul17 July 13:56

          Shame though. Qantas get away with it, but domestic flying is agiven here, rather than seen as an unnecessary luxury as in maybe by some in the UK,

        • GaryC says:
          18 Jul18 July 02:04

          I wonder whether some of the “747’s not that special” type comments are just trolling, or simply made by people with almost zero actual experience of flying, and different aircraft types. Regardless of cabin class being flown, the looks are undeniably iconic. And flying in club on upper deck, or in first meant a unique experience not available elsewhere. So reason enough for people to feel a little sad and nostalgic.

  • LB says:
    17 Jul17 July 12:01

    Is that a coffin, with the flowers on top?

  • Jill (Kinkell) says:
    17 Jul17 July 12:44

    The planes have got to fly somewhere to the breakers yard, so why not take a few folk as well and earn some cash?

    • Nick_C says:
      17 Jul17 July 13:04

      Won’t they will mainly be flying to destinations that aren’t geared up for passengers?

      • Mark says:
        17 Jul17 July 18:28

        Who doesn’t want to be taken to the aircraft breakers yard? 😉

    • Chris Heyes says:
      17 Jul17 July 19:08

      Jill (Kinkell)@ i agree with you take a few folk to breakers yard lol
      Any suggestions which folk ? lol

      • Amber Lynn says:
        17 Jul17 July 19:16

        Don’t worry people, There will be some special flights prior to mark the end of BA commercial 747 flights

      • Jill (Kinkell) says:
        17 Jul17 July 21:41

        Well now……where to start…….at the top?!

  • Nick_C says:
    17 Jul17 July 12:53

    I don’t know about BA, but the 747 was originally designed for a 2-4-3 configuration in economy.

    When I first flew on a Jumbo in 1980, it had already been densified to the 3-4-3 that we accept as normal today (although with substantially greater seat pitch than we have now. 34″ to 36″was normal.

  • Lloyd says:
    17 Jul17 July 12:55

    I was aware of 3 747’s repainted in heritage colours, but the release states four? BOAC, Land or and Nevis but what was the fourth 747? The BEA was an A319.

    • Lloyd says:
      17 Jul17 July 12:56

      Landor and Negus! Autocorrect!

      • AJA says:
        17 Jul17 July 15:17

        That’s a great autocorrection :-). And you’re right BA only repainted 3 747s.

    • Rhys says:
      17 Jul17 July 12:57

      Yes, I wasn’t sure either…..

      • Mark says:
        17 Jul17 July 17:56

        I’m sure there’s other inaccuracies / misleading implications in there as well. Pretty sure the upper deck of the 747-400 was never used as a lounge for example – that idea was ditched pretty early on in the 70s with many 747-100s gaining the additional upper deck windows necessary to put in additional seating up there (as opposed to the 3 on each side shown in the picture of the BOAC 747-100).

        • Jonny Price says:
          20 Jul20 July 11:13

          The original press release has been corrected if you look at the BA Media Centre website. THREE jumbos were painted in retro liveries and the last 747 was delivered to BA in 1999 (not 1989 as the original release suggests).

  • Stuart says:
    17 Jul17 July 16:34

    The fourth was the A319 in BEA livery which along with the Landor livery 747 was here in Bournemouth until recently

  • Peter North says:
    17 Jul17 July 17:32

    You didn’t break the news that BA was ceasing 747 operations, it had been trailed prior to your article.

    • Rob says:
      17 Jul17 July 17:44

      It had been rumoured but not announced. We had the announcement on social media within 10 minutes of the Alex Cruz email to staff being sent and were the first to get an article up about 30 minutes later. Hence Apple News choosing us as their featured article this morning leading to 344,000 people reading it.

  • Alex Sm says:
    17 Jul17 July 17:57

    “BOAC operated its first 747 London to New York service on 14th April 1971 and in July 1989 the first British Airways 747-400, the aircraft type the airline still flies today, took to the skies.

    For the next decade the airline took delivery of 56 more of the aircraft, with its final plane delivered in April 1989. At the time, it was the largest commercial aircraft in the world, and it remained so until the Airbus A380 first took to the skies in 2007.”

    That decade between 1989 and 1989 was unusually short!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!