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British Airways has deep roots in the history of civil aviation and has grown to become a symbol of Britain as it flies all over the world. Take a closer look at this aviation icon and and order British Airways 767 PlaneTags for your collection.
G-BNWH@LHR 30APR11 flickr photo by c38astra shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license
British Airways , the national airline of the United Kingdom, may seem relatively young if you consider its formation date in 1974. However, the airline was formed with the merger of the UK’s two largest airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA), and two smaller regional airlines, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines. Its history actually begins 100 years ago, with Britain’s four pioneer airlines, and encompasses decades of pioneering aviation, mergers, privatisation, rivalries, as well as progress and growth. Its rich history, good and bad, has made its role in British air travel an interesting one.
Used by permission from Malcolm Nason
In 1976, the airline began offering its Concorde service, the world’s only supersonic passenger service. The Concorde was the epitome of luxury air travel, offering unparalleled speed, quality service, and exclusivity. Its take off speed was 220 knots (250 mph) and cruising speed was more than twice the speed of sound. A trip from New York to London normally took eight hours in a regular jetliner, but in a Concorde the same trip was under three and a half hours.
Since 1974, the airline has flown a mix of mostly Airbus and Boeing planes. In July 2020, it was announced that all BA B747, which were intended to be phased out by 2024, would be retired early, due to the impact of coronavirus. The final two 747s were retired in October 2020.
The 767 was chosen over the similar Airbus’ A300 because it shared many features with the 757, allowing pilots to be commonly trained on both. Between 1990 and 2018, the airline operated 28 767-300ER aircrafts. The first joined the fleet in February 1990, with eventually 27 more going on to operate as both short-haul domestic service, European service and long haul routes to destinations in North America, the Middle East, Caribbean and Africa. The 767 fleet as a whole completed over 425,000 commercial flights, according to the airline.
British Airways, G-BNWH, Boeing 767-336 ER flickr photo by Anna Zvereva shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license
The 767 served as a real workhorse; at one point more of them made transatlantic flights than any other type of plane. As newer aircraft with better fuel efficiency and modern amenities appeared on the scene, it made sense to retire the 767. The final passenger 767 service took place on November 25, 2018, with G-BZHA returning to Heathrow Airport before going to St. Athan for storage. The 767 was replaced by the 777-300ER, 787-8, and Airbus A320neo, for its various routes, thus ending an era for this widebody aircraft with British Airways.
The Boeing 767-300ER is a mid sized, wide body, double aisle, twin engine jetliner, and the most popular 767 variant, with more orders placed than all of the other variants combined. It seats about 200 to 250 passengers, and was designed for fuel efficiency and greater fuel capacity for long range capabilities.
This plane, a 767-336ER, was delivered to British Airways on October 30, 1990. It was named “City of Rome” and sported the Landor livery, an iconic design which featured recognisably British elements, including a quartered Union Flag and the Coat of Arms on the tailfin, as well as a new stylized Speedbird symbol, now called the Speedwing. G-BNWH became the eighth British Airways B767-300ER in the fleet. In November 2013, it was included in the airline’s withdrawal schedule for 747-400 and 767-300ER aircrafts in the fleet. Its last revenue flight BA228 departed Baltimore-Washington for London Heathrow on July 10, 2014. The last flight took place on August 18, 2014, to be stored at Southern California Logistics Airport (VCV) in Victorville, CA.
It was at VCV where the MotoArt team first laid eyes on G-BNWH. “It was very exciting to be able to get ourselves a British Airways B767 for so many reasons, but mainly because so many people have emailed and messaged us asking for British Airways PlaneTags,” says MotoArt owner Dave Hall. “People have a lot of affection for both British Airways and the 767, us included. We were so glad to preserve this plane for them and for our collection.”
The newest PlaneTags will be numbered to 10,000 and will be available in blue and white. As with most commercial aircraft PlaneTags, combination colors are very limited because most liveries are dominated by just one or two colors. This makes these two, and rarely three, color combination PlaneTags a special one to own. Sign up to be notified first on future sales, and receive discounts and other exclusive offers first.
