Here are the retirement dates for the British Airways Boeing 747 fleet

Here are the retirement dates for the British Airways Boeing 747 fleet.

It is based on internal BA data on the retirement plan for the fleet.  At present British Airways has 34 Boeing 747 aircraft.  13 of those are scheduled for retirement by November 2022 and have not been refurbished.  These will retire in stages from July 2019, at which point they will be between 21 and 28 years old.

The remaining 21 aircraft will soldier on for a while but are expected to depart by February 2024 if new aircraft deliveries are on time.

What will replace them?  BA has 12 Boeing 787-10 aircraft on order for delivery in 2020 and 2023, as well as three additional Boeing 777-300ER (two this year and one next year) and of course the 12 new Airbus A350-1000 planes which arrive this year and will feature the new Club World seat.

These 27 aircraft will not fully replace the 34 retiring aircraft.  As our article on the oneworld 20th anniversary press conference on Friday mentioned, BA is still interested in more A380 planes if Airbus will sell them at a price which the airline considers acceptable.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)