British Airways unveiled the second in its series of heritage liveries – a British European Airways (BEA) design on an Airbus 319 – as it came home to Manchester yesterday afternoon.
The A319, registration G-EUPJ, is adorned with the BEA livery, which flew predominantly on domestic and European routes between 1959 and 1968, many of them from Manchester.
However, there is one significant difference with the replica; the aircraft has a grey upper wing, rather than the traditional red, to meet current wing paint reflectivity requirements.
It was painted in Shannon and positioned back to Heathrow in the morning. The aircraft, which has been painted to mark British Airways’ centenary, entered service yesterday afternoon with its maiden commercial flight in its new colours to Manchester.
After this, it will continue to fly routes across the UK and Europe, with the design remaining on the aircraft until it retires next year. As with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) liveried 747, the aircraft can be followed using tracking website Flightradar24, which will feature a special image of the livery.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “It was another really special day as we welcomed our BEA liveried A319 in to Heathrow this morning, which forms part of our centenary heritage fleet. Yet again there were huge crowds lining the perimeter fence to see the aircraft coming in, which shows just how excited people are about these designs. We’ve been overwhelmed with positive feedback from customers and colleagues.”
Manchester Airport based staff and aircraft enthusiasts also turned out in force to welcome the return of an old favourite to the North West.
The BEA liveried A319 is the second aircraft with heritage designs to enter the British Airways fleet following the arrival of its BOAC 747 long-haul counterpart last month. Next to arrive with be another 747, this time with a British Airways Landor livery. And one final design will be revealed later this month as the airline celebrates its past while looking to the future.
