America West's Fleet Transition To Us Paint Scheme

[eolesen]

Glad to see that HP/US will be spending their newfound money on a facelift...

If any former US management has anything to do with it, they will do what they did to the PI planes after the merge...Simply take off the PI name, slap on a US decal, with the outline of the PI name still showing on the fuselage. Classy.

You mean like this?

TWA/AA

Or this?

TWA/AA

Or maybe this?

TWA/AA757

Guess posters in glass houses should not throw stones.

[post="284993"][/post]​

Hmm.... AA stripped the TW planes down to bare metal, put AA stripes on them, and then put an TWA decal on them, leaving no doubt that TWA was now part of AA. Hardly the same as just swapping out a decal.

And, the work was done in-house by union employees.

I guess we could have been like Continental, who still had aircraft flying around with PeopleExpress's beige fuselage and maroon/red/orange stripes for at least five or six years after integration...

And since you're talk about glass houses, 700, will the new paint on US/HP aircraft be done by union mechanics or outsourced?

 

[700UW]

If you looked at some of the Md80s upclose like I have you could clearly still see ALL the markings and that the plane was not stripped very well.

And I like to see how you try to deflect the issue at hand.

And painting as US was ALWAYS vendored out as US does not have paint facilities to perform the work due to all the environmental restrictions. And US' planes were always bare metal with decals and after the merger US mechanics stripped the PI planes and applied the decals. When Wolf changed the livery the planes were painted by various vendors.

 

[RowUnderDCA]

I for one like the Flag on the tail...as it is distinctively U's trademark...but part of me opposes the alteration of the US flag...and another part of me opposes the commerialization of the prime symbol of the United States of America.

[post="285548"][/post]​

I AGREE! What IS an altered flag anyway? Is it USAirway's flag? Has anyone anywhere seen an actual U flag? A flag is something that waves. A flag that stands for something, like the 'stars and stripes' or 'old glory' can also be considered a flag when it is represented graphically. What does the paint represent on U's aircraft? I find it bothersome. Ok looking, but conceptually awkward and maybe just slightly crass.


Quote of another poster: "The flag is fine for it represents the United States...."

I'm sorry I disagree. The U.S.A. flag represents the United States. I think you'll find a representation already on U's aircraft.


I guess I feel strongly about this or I wouldn't keep driving the subject. The 'flag-ish' logo needs to go. At worst it's disrespectful, crass and presumptuous. At best it's a sterilized, disempowered, symbol of a symbol of a symbol that loses it's power by its mere mimickry.

former design/architecture major here..... sorry.... can't give it up.

 

[diogenes]

I get to the same place, RUD, via a different route.

To me, the altered flag says "We have no loyalty to America." Funny how the truth shines thru.

Now, if a company want to use the American flag, fine. If they don't want to, equally fine.

But don't half ass try to have it both ways (typical Palace think).

Show some respect, U.

 

[Light Years]

The airline's name is US AIRWAYS... what should they have for a logo, a Viking?

I don't find it offensive at all. North American Airlines has the flag and pretty much the colors of the flag. So does USA3000. That's presumtuous.You also see the same design when you only want to spend $2.00 on cigarettes, so you buy USAGOLDs and put the cigs in your used Marlboro box.

US Airways uses a logo that is thier own but can immediatly be associated with the great country it represents. The colors- navy, red, white, and gray, are sophisticated hues of the colors associated with the United States.

Are British Airways, BMI, and Virgin Atlantic bastardizing the Union Jack? Virgin's got a naked redhead flying the thing. US Airways makes reference to the flag rather than outright using it.

The current livery makes an impact, particularly on the widebodies. When that A330 rolls into Europe, you know where it's coming from and who it is. I've heard lots of compliments on it.

Please no more white or silver.

AA- classic if a bit boring

UA- the new one should be on a charter airline in South America, not a worldwide airline. Uninspired and cheap looking.

DL- Snooze to all 31 paint jobs currently flying. The newest one looks like a red plastic bag got caught on the tail.

NW- The logo no longer says NW or points to the northwest. The color looks different depending on the lighting and it's not always flattering. And someone really should have told them about the rap group NWA.

CO- Again, way too much white, but at least clean and crisp.

WN- Barney falls asleep in a booth at Denny's.

AS- What does Keith Richards have to do with it?

B6- Tails and lettering are nice, the rest is blah white. They should have been, I don't know, blue?

HP- Love the merger partner but that makes me dizzy. Fred Flintsone drinks long islands and vomits on an airplane.

US- Ominous shark and/or Darth Vadar, but it's ours and I love it. I still think they should bring back the red MetroJet scheme for Express though. It was really eye-catching and looked neat next to the big blues.

 

[a320av8r]

I get to the same place, RUD, via a different route.

To me, the altered flag says "We have no loyalty to America." Funny how the truth shines thru.

Now, if a company want to use the American flag, fine. If they don't want to, equally fine.

But don't half ass try to have it both ways (typical Palace think).

Show some respect, U.

[post="285589"][/post]​

It's not a "flag" it's a "stylized flag icon".
That's why it is the same on either side of the aircraft or anywhere else you may see it.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

HP- Love the merger partner but that makes me dizzy. Fred Flintsone drinks long islands and vomits on an airplane.

[post="285602"][/post]​

LightYears you kill me! ROTFLMAO! BTW, I thought someone referred to the HP tail logo as a "PacMan going down on ......" 😛

 

[hharotz]

US- Ominous shark and/or Darth Vadar, but it's ours and I love it. I still think they should bring back the red MetroJet scheme for Express though. It was really eye-catching and looked neat next to the big blues.

[post="285602"][/post]​

I completely agree. The livery when maintained properly looks fantastic. Red for express and blue for mainline would really be slick. I really hope that HP does not modify the current scheme at all...if it does, then IMO, the modifications should only be minor. Keep the stylized flag and US font and don't cheapen it up with the HP squigglies and Flinstones font.

What I would like to see however, is the new HP interiors retrofitted to the entire merged airline's fleet. The leather seats with sewn in logo look really sharp.

 

[Light Years]

I completely agree. The livery when maintained properly looks fantastic. Red for express and blue for mainline would really be slick.

[post="285624"][/post]​

Like this (with thanks to poster CLT Douglas) except the Shuttle (if a dedicated fleet) would be white but keep the gray bottom and 'squiggly' Shuttle titles. And obviously they would not all operate A320s, it's just for show. Oh and change the Express name to something snappier.

 

[El Gato]

It will be a bare skin based design, in order to save weight and increase fuel efficeincy, a la Eastern. Expect a play on the AA colours of red, white and blue but in a more EA kind of pattern. The fake flag logo will remain, but will be much smaller and the name size will be larger, sort of a Pan Am billboard look. I would also expect a "hockey stick" on the tail just like Easterns, but in AA's colours.

As for the uniforms and the matching cabin interiors, that is a big mystery. My guess is a silver look overall, with the red, white and blue as a sidleine of some sort. Silver is just as bad a colour as dark blue or black in that if a F/A is a fatty(and we have too many already!), it will make them look even bigger. Thus, some might take issue with it.

 

[etops1]

how do you know this?

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Why have any paint at all? This is going to be a discount carrier, right?

 

[Light Years]

If they HAD to change it, this would be the next best option in my opinion. It would give them thier silver fix, wouldn't require any other rebranding (signage, facilities, ticket jackets etc) and wouldn't be out of place alongside the current look.

Changing the logo and lettering would be extremely expensive, if they just change it a little they would really only have to paint the aircraft as need arises.

Looks ALOT like Aeroflot's new scheme, not that US and Aeroflot would be in the same airport very often.

 

[tadjr]

I actually like the silver one. It still has the classy look, but a little less stuffy than it looks now. The curved lines dont make it look rigid and harsh and its still looks professional.

 

[dfw79]

Not sure sure about a play off of EAL...but maybe work in a little mix of the two (current and EAL...heck a little of the old Widget scheme at DL)...