British Airways Rolls Out Its Retro 757 (Airplane Porn)

Oct 8, 2010

More Reading on This Topic: Airplane Porn, British Airways

It’s been way too long since we’ve had some good airplane porn here on Cranky, so I couldn’t resist when I saw British Airways put the airline’s last 757 into this stunning retro paint job.

I mean, seriously. Why would they ever change these colors? While I did also really like the next Landor-produced colors, it all went downhill with the whole “World Tails” thing. I think Maggie Thatcher said it best.

We fly the British flag, not these awful things.

Amen. BA got away from these and the Landor colors because it seemed too stuffy and British in their eyes. But that’s why we love BA (and Britain in general), right? It’s called character, and the old colors conveyed that well. While the newest colors have returned to flying the British flag, it no longer has that same regal look.

So why are they doing this? Well, BA was the launch customer for the 757 and put it into service way back in 1983 (in these colors). The airplane has served the airline well since then, but at the end of this month, the 757 will be retired for good with the airline. BA has been kind enough to give it the 757 a farewell tour.

This particular airplane, registered G-CPET, is a young pup, delivered in May 1998. It still has plenty of life and will find work elsewhere, but for now, the last flight with BA is scheduled for October 30. Enjoy it while it’s still flying around in these colors.

Brett

21 responses to “British Airways Rolls Out Its Retro 757 (Airplane Porn)”

lh

Oct 8, 2010 at 4:56 am

That looks absolutely stunning.

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Andrew

Oct 8, 2010 at 5:45 am

Why is BA retiring the 757? I know they’re growing older and don’t have a direct replacement, but it seems like there’s still a bunch of life left in most of the 757’s out there.

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1. CF
  
  Oct 8, 2010 at 12:31 pm
  
  While there is some good life in a lot of the 757s, they don’t really fit the BA mission profile these days. BA is focusing its short haul fleet on the Airbus family now, so it has started taking A321s. It doesn’t need the longer range of the 757 anymore, so it’s time to phase it out. The only remaining hope was that Open Skies would take more for its Transatlantic flying, but that’s not happening. These will become freighters, I believe.
  
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JM

Oct 8, 2010 at 6:11 am

Great post, CF.

Incidentally, I look forward to flying Delta’s 757s until 2083 or thereabouts.

JM

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1. IHSW
  
  Oct 8, 2010 at 10:09 am
  
  Hahahahaha!
  
  Reply
DGS

Oct 8, 2010 at 6:31 am

On a 757-related note…

Does anybody know if any of the ex-Eastern 757’s are still in service anywhere? Any place to track such info down?

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1. Ken
  
  Oct 8, 2010 at 6:58 am
  
  According to airfleets, N504EA is now N757HW flying for Honeywell
  
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2. EricInChi
  
  Oct 8, 2010 at 8:33 am
  
  Yes…most old EA 757 are still active…mainly with NW/DL, US and FedEx…here is the link:
  
  http://www.airfleets.net/listing/b757-1.htm
  
  Thanks for the dose of PlaneTube porn Cranky…. I agree that it was a more classic, rega and, formal BA. Another reminder that allot has changed in 25 years…*sigh*.
  
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  1. CF
    
    Oct 8, 2010 at 12:34 pm
    
    How many 757s did Eastern have? Airfleets shows 25 with only a couple still in service, all as cargo or with Honeywell, as noted by Ken:
    http://airfleets.net/flottecie/Eastern%20Airlines-history-b757.htm
    
    Most of the America West 757s were Republic originals that Northwest discarded after the merger, but there were a couple Eastern birds as well. Those are out of the fleet. Looks like US Airways has retired a lot of the Eastern birds in the last year.
    
    But were there more than those 25?
    
    Reply
3. JamesK
  
  Oct 11, 2010 at 1:51 pm
  
  NASA’s Langley Research Center got one for use in atmospheric research. For years they flew it without a major repaint, except of course for where the airline title had been. I think it’s since been repainted white with a blue cheatline, NASA style.
  
  It visited ATL one afternoon in 1997, making me do one hell of a double take.
  
  http://www.airliners.net/photo/NASA/Boeing-757-225/0031609/M/
  
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Oliver

Oct 8, 2010 at 7:44 am

Why would they spend money retro-painting an aircraft that is about to be retired? Should’ve put the livery on an aircraft that will stick around *and* needed a new paint job anyway.

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David SF eastbay

Oct 8, 2010 at 7:57 am

“””””We fly the British flag, not these awful things”””””

I agree with Maggie, those tails were terrible.

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james

Oct 8, 2010 at 8:23 am

Love the old typeface. Reminded me of this movie “Helvetica” – which explored design change in the late 80s and 90s from old serif style lettering to the sleek (some say boring) fonts that’s used for almost everything now – like the skinny new “United” lettering on the Continental logo plane.

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chris

Oct 8, 2010 at 9:24 am

Thanks Cranks! I have a plastic model of that plane in my office and never really understood why it had that livery. Now I know! I thought it was some cheap knock off no-name model that was supposed to sorta look like BA, but not really be BA. Happy Friday!

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1. CF
  
  Oct 8, 2010 at 12:35 pm
  
  You just trying to make us jealous?!?
  
  Reply
Daren S

Oct 8, 2010 at 9:37 am

I agreed with Mrs T on most things but disagreed with her and probably most of the British population regarding the World Tails, I really liked them. Agree though the retro look is cool. Not particularly nostalgic about the 757, it always felt slightly cramped with its small cabins (in the BA config).

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Nicholas Barnard

Oct 8, 2010 at 11:18 am

Nice Livery. Many forget that US Air used to fly 767s in the Landor Colors… I’ve got such a soft spot for the 757, and its nice that they’ll be sending one off on my birthday..

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Paul

Oct 8, 2010 at 3:10 pm

Thanks for posting the retro photo and story.

PS – Eastern Air Lines was the launch customer per the Boeing site:

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/757family/pf/pf_200back.html

First delivery of a 757-200 took place Dec. 22, 1982, to launch customer Eastern Airlines. Eastern placed the aircraft into service Jan. 1, 1983. On Jan. 14, 1983, the British Civil Aviation Authority certified the 757-200 to fly in the United Kingdom. British Airways, another launch customer for the 757-200, is now a major operator of the twinjet.

Regards, Paul

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airjunkie

Oct 10, 2010 at 9:59 am

This is great airplane porn! The livery is timeless. Now, class, compare and contrast this with the new United livery. Be sure to include to explore mash-up versus clean-sheet design.

I miss the old speedbird logo: seeing it reminds me of watching as a kid the BA Concordes going in and out of JFK. The interest thing to note is roughly about the time this livery was in use, the joke was BA stood for “Bloody Awful.”

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DRG

Oct 12, 2010 at 9:13 am

I’d rather see a 757 in BOAC colours

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Storm Climb

Jul 26, 2011 at 6:52 am

Wow, I had absolutely no idea BA had painted its last 757 in the old livery. I also didn’t realise BA had retired its 757 fleet – I’ve been outside Blighty too long!

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