British Airways Livery History

Few airlines have a visual history as recognisable as British Airways. From BOAC's blue-and-gold Speedbird identity to Negus, Landor, the colourful World Tails experiment and today's Chatham Dockyard scheme, each generation has become associated with a different period of British commercial aviation.

For many pilots, cabin crew, engineers and aviation enthusiasts, one of those liveries will always be their British Airways.

This guide looks at the main British Airways liveries and the aircraft that wore them. Throughout the article you'll also find our own British Airways aviation artwork, created to celebrate many of those aircraft and colour schemes.

Browse all British Airways Posters →

Explore the liveries: BOAC · BEA · Negus · Landor · World Tails · Chatham Dockyard · 2019 heritage liveries

BOAC: The Identity Before British Airways

Before British Airways existed, much of Britain's long-haul flying was operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation – BOAC.

By the jet age, BOAC aircraft had developed an unmistakable appearance. A dark blue cheatline ran along the fuselage, while blue-and-gold branding and the famous Speedbird emblem helped create an identity that became synonymous with British long-haul aviation.

The Speedbird itself actually predates BOAC. Designed by Theyre Lee-Elliott for Imperial Airways in the 1930s, it survived through BOAC and later influenced the branding of British Airways.

The arrival of the Boeing 747 became one of the defining moments of BOAC's final years. The huge new widebody carried the classic BOAC identity into the 1970s and created an image that remains instantly recognisable to aviation enthusiasts today.

BOAC also operated aircraft such as the Vickers VC10, another aircraft closely associated with the airline's long-haul era.

BEA: The Red Square

While BOAC was associated primarily with long-haul routes, British European Airways served domestic and European destinations.

Its visual identity was completely different.

BEA's celebrated Red Square branding used a bold combination of red, black and white. Developed as part of BEA's wider modern corporate identity, it gave the airline one of the most distinctive appearances in post-war European aviation.

British Airways revived the Red Square look for its centenary celebrations in 2019, repainting Airbus A319 G-EUPJ in a heritage BEA scheme.

The result gave a comparatively modern Airbus the appearance of a much earlier generation of British aviation – and made the aircraft one of the most recognisable retrojets in the British Airways fleet.

Negus: The First British Airways Livery

British Airways was created in 1974 through the merger of BOAC and BEA. The newly unified airline needed an identity of its own.

Created by Negus & Negus and introduced in 1973 ahead of the formal merger, the first British Airways scheme established the red, white and blue identity that would remain associated with BA for decades.

• White upper fuselage with a dark blue lower section.
• Red and blue Union Flag-inspired tail.
• British Airways titles along the forward fuselage.
• The inherited Speedbird emblem positioned near the titles.

The result was unmistakably British without simply repeating either BOAC or BEA.

Few aircraft demonstrate the Negus era better than Concorde. Concorde wore a special version of the Negus identity, keeping its fuselage white to help manage the heat of supersonic flight. Its early British Airways titles and tail markings give the aircraft a distinctly different character from its later appearance.

For another aircraft from the period, our British Airways Boeing 707 Negus artwork captures the same livery on one of BA's earlier jetliners.

Landor: British Airways in the 1980s and 1990s

In December 1984, British Airways unveiled a completely redesigned identity created by Landor Associates.

Where Negus had been bright and relatively simple, Landor gave British Airways a darker and more formal appearance.

• A pearl-grey upper fuselage.
• A deep navy-blue lower fuselage.
• The red Speedwing graphic running along the aircraft.
• A more restrained Union Flag-inspired tail.
• The British Airways coat of arms on the tail.

For many aviation enthusiasts, this is the livery most closely associated with British Airways during its classic Boeing 747 and Concorde era.

The Boeing 747-400 became particularly closely linked with the Landor image. British Airways eventually became the world's largest operator of the 747-400, and the combination of the Landor colours and the 747's unmistakable profile became an enduring part of the airline's visual history.

Landor also looked particularly distinctive on Concorde. You can see that version in our British Airways Concorde – Landor artwork.

World Images and the British Airways "World Tails"

In 1997, British Airways introduced its most radical visual change yet.

The new identity replaced the formal Landor appearance with a white upper fuselage, blue lower section and a flowing red-and-blue graphic known as the Speedmarque.

But the biggest change was at the tail.

Rather than applying one design across the entire fleet, British Airways commissioned artists and designers to create a large collection of different tailfin designs. Officially known as World Images, they became much better known among aviation enthusiasts as the World Tails.

Aircraft could therefore share the same British Airways fuselage but look completely different from behind.

Among the World Images carried by British Airways aircraft were designs such as:

• Rendezvous
• Colum
• Benyhone Tartan
• Chelsea Rose

The idea was to reflect the international nature of the British Airways network. It certainly created one of the most colourful and varied airline fleets of its time.

It was also controversial, and the multiple-tail concept ultimately proved relatively short-lived.

Chatham Dockyard: The Modern British Airways Look

One of the designs introduced during the World Images era was Chatham Dockyard, a flowing red, white and blue interpretation of the Union Flag.

Unlike the other World Tails, Chatham survived.

Chatham first appeared in 1997 on Concorde. British Airways subsequently extended it to other aircraft and, in 2001, announced that it would replace the remaining World Images tails. Repainting took time: 2001 marks the decision to standardise, rather than an overnight change across the fleet.

The modern livery retains several recognisable British Airways elements:

• A clean white upper fuselage.
• A dark blue lower fuselage.
• The red-and-blue Speedmarque.
• The distinctive Chatham Dockyard Union Flag across the tail.

The design has now appeared on several generations of aircraft, from the Boeing 747 and Airbus A320 family to current long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Airbus A380.

If you prefer the modern British Airways fleet, have a look at our Airbus A350 Heathrow poster and Airbus A380 Heathrow poster, both featuring the modern Chatham Dockyard identity.

Bring a familiar Heathrow departure into your home or office. Choose the aircraft you fly, work on or always stop to watch, then select your preferred size and frame on the product page.

British Airways Brings the Old Liveries Back

British Airways' earlier identities have never completely disappeared from aviation culture.

That became particularly clear in 2019, when the airline celebrated its centenary by introducing four heritage-liveried aircraft.

• BOAC: Boeing 747-400 G-BYGC.
• Negus: Boeing 747-400 G-CIVB.
• Landor: Boeing 747-400 G-BNLY.
• BEA: Airbus A319 G-EUPJ.

For a short period, aircraft representing several different generations of British airline design could once again be seen operating alongside the modern British Airways fleet.

The three heritage 747s became especially popular with aviation enthusiasts before British Airways retired its Boeing 747 fleet in 2020.

Our Landor 747-400 Retrojet poster and BEA A319 Retrojet poster celebrate that return to earlier colours. The BOAC 747-100 artwork shown earlier depicts the original BOAC era, rather than the 2019 747-400 retrojet.

Which British Airways Livery Is Your Favourite?

There isn't really one definitive British Airways look.

For some people it's the blue-and-gold BOAC Boeing 747. For others it's an early British Airways Concorde in Negus colours, a Landor 747 arriving at Heathrow, one of the unusual World Tails, or the Chatham Dockyard scheme still flying today.

That changing visual identity is one of the reasons British Airways is such an interesting airline to illustrate.

Choose the aircraft and era that mean something to you. For a gift, start with the recipient's favourite aircraft, the airline they worked for or a flight they still talk about. These are a few places to start:

• BOAC Boeing 747-100
• British Airways Airbus A319 – BEA Retrojet
• British Airways Concorde – Negus
• British Airways Boeing 707 – Negus
• British Airways Boeing 747-400 – Landor
• British Airways Concorde – Landor
• British Airways Boeing 747 Livery Collection
• British Airways Airbus A320
• British Airways Airbus A350 at Heathrow
• British Airways Airbus A380 at Heathrow

Looking for more British aviation artwork? Browse our British Airline Posters, including Virgin Atlantic, Jet2, easyJet, TUI Airways, Loganair and other current and historic UK airlines.

History references: British Airways: Explore our past; the Negus identity; Chatham Dockyard; Concorde liveries.