British Airways reveals its ‘Negus’ Boeing 747 retro livery

The final British Airways aircraft to receive a retro livery as part of the ‘BA 100’ celebrations has been unveiled.

A Boeing 747 has been painted in the ‘Negus’ design which was originally used from 1974 to 1980.  This was the first livery used by the newly formed British Airways following the merger of BOAC and BEA and represented the first time since 1938 that an aircraft had carried the ‘British Airways’ name.

The red tail fin was a riff on the red BEA logo which you can see on another of the retro liveries now in use.  The white and blue fuselage, on the other hand, harks back to the BOAC livery.  Negus was an attempt to keep passengers of both airlines happy.

The aircraft will retain this livery until it is retired in 2022.

I was hoping to see it on Thursday from the Malaysia Airlines lounge in Terminal 4, where I spent the morning, but it was a little late arriving.  I DID get to see the BOAC repainted Boeing 747 in the flesh, which does look impressive.

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.)