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British Airways has officially unveiled the third of its retrospective aircraft liveries to mark its centenary year.
One of its Boeing 747s, aircraft registration G-BNLY, has been painted in the Landor livery.
The aircraft returned to London Heathrow this morning, Saturday 9 March 2019, having been repainted in Dublin over the past week.
The Landor livery was the second livery scheme introduced after the operations of BEA and BOAC merged under the British Airways brand from 1974. It replaced the the first livery designed by Negus & Negus.
The livery was designed by Landor Associates in San Francisco which was founded by the late Walter Landor who designed brand identities for Levi, General Electric and Fuji Film. This was in itself a controversial decision amongst British designers, but reflected BA’s global ambition and outlook.
Landor was introduced in 1984 at a time of significant change for the airline. Lord King had been appointed Chairman and Colin Marshall had been appointed CEO. Saatchi & Saatchi had secured the BA advertising contract. BA had started using “The World’s Favourite Airline” slogan. It had also introduced its “Putting People First” employee training programme.
The Landor livery cost $1million to design. Of course, it extended far beyond aircraft. It encompassed a complete redesign of BA’s visual identity. Landor Associates spent 18 months on the project, including 4 months travelling on the BA network to carry out a “visual audit” and conducting over 1,000 interviews.
The concept behind the Landor livery was an emphasis on precision. It wasn’t received with universal acclaim. Some British designers, perhaps expecting a modernist design, derided it as regressive and mediocre. Others mocked the inclusion of the BA crest on the tail fin.
This particular aircraft previously sported the Landor livery on its delivery to BA in 1993. The aircraft’s original name “City Of Swansea” has also been reinstated.
The aircraft carried the Landor livery until the introduction of the “World Images” tail fins from 1997, which unsurprisingly will not be the subject of a retrospective livery.
This aircraft will retain this livery until its retirement in 2023. It’s due to fly to Miami as BA211 today. There’s no way of predicting exactly on which routes this aircraft will operate. However, as a 52 Club World seat aircraft, it will regularly operate from London Heathrow Terminals 3 & 5 primarily on routes such as Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Miami, Phoenix and Vancouver.
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