‘Great sadness’ as BA retires entire 747 fleet

British Airways is to retire all its Boeing 747s as a result of the huge downturn in international travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline is the world’s largest operator of the jumbo jets, with 31 in the fleet. All will be stood down with immediate effect.

Initially, BA planned to retire the aircraft in 2024, but brought the date forward because of the global downturn in travel. Virgin has already said it plans to retire its 747s.

BA will operate more flights on modern, more fuel-efficient aircraft, such as the Airbus A350s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

BA said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect.

"It is unlikely our magnificent ‘queen of the skies’ will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic.

"While the aircraft will always have a special place in our heart, as we head into the future we will be operating more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s, to help us achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050."

Former pilot, now aviation consultant Alastair Rosenschein told Radio 4’s Today programme it was an ‘honour’ the fly the aircraft. He said: "It’s the iconic airliner, the first one to be called a jumbo. The bump on the top made it recognisable. It’s quite a moment."

The news was met with sadness on social media, with one fan calling on BA to give the public ‘one last chance to fly a jumbo’.

Enda Burke said: "So the awful news has come out that British Airways are to immediately retire their 747s.These will be sorely missed. Come on BA do the right thing and do some farewell flights like Qantas did."

Geordielass said: "So sorry to see my favourite aircraft being forced into early retirement. We both joined BA in 1989 and it looks like we’ll both be leaving in 2020 if BA get their wish! End of an era."

Jake-777 said: "A sad day for BA crew! A sad day for aviation! A truly iconic aircraft loved by crew & passengers alike. Gutted!"

WildRain9 described the aircraft as: "My absolute favourite aircraft to work on over the years – Queen of the Skies. Very sad. Many at BA will be too."

The news comes as ACI Europe, which represents European airports, said its does not expect passenger numbers to recover until 2024, one year later than it predicted in May.

Figures for June show the increase in air travel following the easing of coronavirus restrictions has been slower than anticipated.

Passenger traffic across European airports last month was down 93% compared with June 2019.

BA has said it does not forsee 2019 levels of travel demand returning until 2023.

By Lisa James, Deputy Editor (UK)