British Airways have introduced the third retro livery of the planned four, with a Boeing 747-400 painted in the Landor livery. This elegant scheme adorned their aircraft from 1984 to 1997 originally.

There is just one more special paint scheme to come, which is expected to be the 1974 to 1984 Negus and Negus livery. Landor is an evolution of that branding.

British Airways Landor Livery

Painted in Dublin, Boeing 747-400 G-BNLY will be in service until the aircraft is retired in 2023. Many people will get a chance to experience a flight on board.

Originally designed by New York firm Landor Associates, it was a definite improvement for the brand. The Coat of Arms made its first appearance on the tail in this scheme. It features British Airways’ motto, “To Fly, To Serve”.


The long red swoosh along the aircraft is called a Speedwing, which is an evolution of the original Speedbird sported on the BOAC tail. It has evolved into the blue and red Speedmarque we see today.

Overlooking the World Tails of the late 1990s, which people either loved or hated, the branding has evolved in a natural way. You always know it when you see a British Airways aircraft.

Overall Thoughts

Hopefully British Airways go to the expense of doing an air to air photo shoot of all four aircraft in formation. That would be really excellent to see.

Cross fingers for the next one we get some better photos issued by BA. Spotters in Ireland and the UK tend to have better images online before the official shots are issued.

What do you think of the Landor scheme? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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All images via British Airways.