British Airways is in the final stages of its Boeing 747 retirement program, having said the type won’t fly passengers again. Simple Flying looked into the delivery of G-CIVD in 1994 with the photographic help of three members of cabin crew, Gilly Conway, Robin Williams, and Malcolm Reeves.
Recently all eyes have been on British Airways as it retires its fleet of Boeing 747s after 50 years. However, where did these aircraft come from? Typically delivery flights see pilots flying an empty plane from the factory to the airline’s home airport. Every once in a while, things are a little different, as was the case of G-CIVD in 1994.
An interesting delivery
British Airways took delivery of G-CVID on December 14th, 1994. However, the delivery was anything other than a routine flight. While delivery flights typically only have the pilots onboard, and perhaps some administrative staff, this wasn’t the case on December 14th.
In addition to the aircraft’s pilots, three members of cabin crew were onboard. They were Gilly Conway, Robin Williams, and Malcolm Reeves. The team was required as instead of being operated as an empty ferry flight, 14 accountants acted as passengers onboard the flight from Seattle to London.
Stay informed: Sign up for our daily aviation news digest.
The accountants occupied the First cabin, which had 14 seats at the time. They didn’t have much time, as these were the only seats onboard the aircraft when it was delivered.
Onboard activities
Gilly, Robin, and Malcolm went the extra mile to make G-CIVD’s first flight one to remember. The three decorated the cabin with Christmas decorations and a welcome poster. To top off the look, the three members of cabin crew donned Christmas jumpers for their departure from Seattle.
However, there was a problem. The aircraft had no in-flight entertainment installed for the transatlantic crossing. However, this proved to be no issue for the trio who changed into shorts and t-shirts to host an aerobics class in the empty cavern of the plane’s cabin. They then changed into evening wear for dinner and the remainder of the flight.
About G-CIVD
Last week, G-CIVD became the first Boeing 747 to be retired since British Airways announced the end of flights being operated by the type. Having been delivered in December 1994, the aircraft had been with British Airways for 25 years.
According to Planespotters.net, the aircraft took its first flight less than a month before its delivery on November 23rd. On Tuesday, the plane flew to Castellon in Spain to rest its wings into retirement. Before its final flight, this Boeing 747 had flown 115,276.8 hours. British Airways told Simple Flying that this equated to 13,364 flights and over 50 million miles flown.
Have you ever ridden on a delivery flight? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
