British Airways (BA) has retired its last Boeing 767-300, 28 years after the type entered service.
At one point, BA had a 28-strong fleet of the Boeing twin-aisle design on strength. The aircraft completed 425,000 flights with the UK flag carrier.
The aircraft was sufficiently versatile to be used on both long-haul routes to destinations such as New York, Calgary and Abu Dhabi, and dense, short-haul services such as Edinburgh and Frankfurt.
The final commercial service in BA colors was from Larnaca, Cyprus, back to the aircraft’s London Heathrow base on Nov. 25. The final flight was flown by G-BZHA, which first flew in 1998 and has flown an estimated 23 million miles.
It had visited Larnaca 900 times in its career, but was most frequently used on the London- Athens run, having completed 1,275 round trips to the Greek capital.
The last two remaining BA 767s have now been ferried to St Athan, South Wales, for storage. A BA spokesman said their final fate was uncertain.
The airline’s 767s were reconfigured for use on short-haul routes with a two-class, 244-seat layout.
“The 767 has been a brilliant part of our fleet, flying some of our most popular routes and giving customers what was an industry-leading service in its time,” BA director-flight operations Al Bridger said.
Meanwhile, BA’s first Airbus A321neo, from an order for 10, has been delivered, according to industry reports. BA declined to comment. The airline is anticipated to take delivery of three A321neos this year and the remaining seven in 2019.
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