Airline Reporter » Airline Livery of the Week

Airline Livery of the Week: Jat Airways

David Parker Brown — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:45:03 +0000

Jat Airways Boeing 737-300.

If you like dots and simplicity, boy do I have a livery for you — Jat Airways. The airline was founded in 1927, which makes it one of the world’s older airlines. JAT is the national airline of Serbia and operates out of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG).

JAT currently operates a fleet of Boeing 737-300 and ATR-72 aircraft that fly to mostly international destinations in Europe. The airline has had quite a few different liveries through out the years and some better than others.

The JAT Yugoslav Airlines livery seen on this DC-9 in 1986 has a very classic looking livery with the retro “JAT” circle on the tail. Then, with the introduction of the Boeing 737-300 to the fleet, JAT went with a similar livery, but with bare metal instead of white paint – not quite as nice looking in my opinion. In 2001, JAT updated their livery with a waving flag design on their tail and a predominate ”JAT” on the front of the fuselage — which looked great on a DC-10.

To help celebrate their official name change to “Jat Airways” in 2003, the airline decided to hold a competition for a new livery. A simple livery involving dots ended up winning and is now on their entire fleet.

So… what are your thoughts?

Image by 64N21W

Airline Livery of the Week: Dubrovnik Airlines and their Bad Livery

David Parker Brown — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:00:29 +0000

Dubrovnik MD-82 doesn't look the best.

You might want to make sure that the kids are out of the room when looking at this livery — it is not pretty. A while back I put on Twitter that I think the worst liveries I have covered were Air Do and Air Midwest. I asked people if they had any that might be worse and @BrunetJohn stepped up with Dubrovnik Airlines.

For a livery to get on a plane, there have to be multiple people that approve it. I mean it costs the same amount of money to paint a good livery or bad one — which always makes me wonder how liveries like this every see the light of day.

Sure, the concept of putting a pretty photo to show where you fly is not a bad idea (and it is pretty — close up shot). However, this looks more like it was designed in Microsoft Word than almost any livery I have seen.

The word “airline” doesn’t even match up with the name and is oddly next to that picture. On the left side of the plane, it is no better with the name being oddly close to the picture.

According to Flight Global, the airline suspended operations on October 23, 2011. There is a possibility they could come back into service and I wish them the best — I only ask to think about going with a new livery.

There have been many times where I have dis-liked a livery and some of you have dis-agreed with me. Can anyone disagree with this one?

Image: Tab59

Airline Livery of the Week: Air New Zealand’s Black (All Blacks) Boeing 777-300ER

David Parker Brown — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:08:01 +0000

HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). Air New Zealand's All Black Boeing 777-300ER comes out of the Boeing paint hangar. Photo by Boeing.

This is not the first aircraft that Air New Zealand has painted black for the World Champion All Blacks rugby team, but it sure is the biggest. Actually this is the world’s largest commercially operated aircraft to be painted completly black.

“It’s a sensational looking aircraft and will really turn heads at airports around the world,” said All Black’s No. 8 loose forward Kieran Read. “I reckon they should paint all their planes like this!”

The special paint job took Boeing just over a week (two days longer than a standard 777 paint job) and 14 painters worked 24 hour shifts — not an easy task.

“It was, without a doubt, one of the most challenging paint jobs we’ve ever done, but the paint team was up for the challenge and the results are absolutely outstanding. I am very proud of what the paint team has achieved,” said Jeff Klemann, Boeing Vice President Everett Delivery Center.

One might think the black paint would cause the aircraft to get too hot, but in reality, the 330 tvs onboard the aircraft will create more heat than the paint job.

Air New Zealand is hoping to take delivery of this special 777-300ER in late Jauary 2012. By mid next year, the airline plans to have six additional planes painted in the all black livery, including two Airbus A320s and three Beech 1900D turbo-props. Here is also a video highlighting the creation of the new livery…

Airline Livery of the Week: Aer Lingus Retro Livery

David Parker Brown — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:45:32 +0000

Retro airline liveries — who doesn’t love this stuff? Aer Lingus recently unveiled their livery from the 1960′s on an Airbus A320 to celebrate their 75th birthday.

Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller said, “2011 is a very special year for Aer Lingus as it marks the airline’s 75th anniversary. Throughout the 75 years we have carried out our mission of connecting Ireland with the world, transporting millions of customers annually.”

Source: Flight Global

Airline Livery of the Week: Air Asia’s Junior Jet Club Livery (Guest Blog)

David Parker Brown — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 13:00:18 +0000

Air Asia Airbus A320 with Junior Jet Club livery

Guest post by Yvette Scott:

I’d like to thank David for inviting me back to his blog; I think you will agree with me that David’s coverage of the Boeing 747-800 First Flight has been exceptional, so for someone who is 4850 miles away, the coverage has made me feel like I am there. Credit for finding this livery has to go to Phil (aka @PlansAirports, aka MR @AirlinesAngel), who spotted it during his tour of Indonesia.

This Air Asia A320 is themed for their Air Asia Junior Jet Club, which is aimed at their young frequent flyers and features members of the Jet Crew. Air Asia, to date, has carried over 82 million passengers, and the fleet has grown from 2 to 85 aircraft and I hear that the staff’s favourite aircraft is the Junior Jet Club plane, so if you are travelling around Asia you might be lucky to be onboard this colourful aircraft.

Airline Livery of the Week: Azul Brazilian Airlines

David Parker Brown — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:00:13 +0000

Click any photo for larger version

The word “azul” in Portuguese means “Blue.” This is odd for two reasons. First, this special livery is pink and the airline was created by David Neeleman, who was the founder and former CEO of jetBlue.

The airline started service in December of 2008 and has a fleet of 28 aircraft, consisting of Embraer 190s, Embraer 195s and a few ATR 72-600s. They fly to 30 destinations with more than 200 flights be day.

In the next few months, they will be taking delivery of 20 new ATR 72-600s and recently, ATR delivered a pretty-in-pink aircraft to Azul to help promote breast cancer awareness. In a recent ATR press release, they state, “On its fuselage, the aircraft will promote FEMAMA, a Brazilian non-profit organization dedicated to fighting the disease. In addition, ATR and its suppliers involved in the organization of the delivery of the aircraft will contribute funds for the Toulouse Cancer Campus.”

Although pink is not my favorite color, I think it looks good with Azul’s livery and actually I think the pink makes the plane pop a bit more than their standard blue livery.

Airline Livery of the Week: TAP Portugal

David Parker Brown — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:41:37 +0000

TAP Portugal Airbus A320 (CS-TNM)

So what the heck does “TAP” stand for? When the airline was established in 1945 it stood for Transportes Aéreos Portugueses. In 1979 the name was changed to TAP Air Portugal and finally it was simplified to just TAP Portugal.

TAP has an all Airbus fleet of A319, A320, A321, A330 and the A340. They also have 12 Airbus A350s on order. The airline flies to 65 destinations in 31 countries via their fleet of 66 aircraft. They also run a regional airline, called PGA, with 16 additional aircraft.

The livery overlaps the TAP on the front of the fuselage and mostly just has the “P” on the tail. This gives it a clean and unique look, especially with the “TAP PORTUGUAL” going vertically up the tail.

Image: Guido Haesevoets

Airline Livery of the Week: Edelweiss Air

David Parker Brown — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:00:40 +0000

Edelweiss Air Airbus A330-200 (HB-IQZ) with flower livery.

At first glance I was not sure if it was a flower or some odd nuclear atom on their plane. Either way, I kind of liked it. When taking a closer look at the Edelweiss Air, it became quite clear this was a flower.

The airline is named after the unofficial state flower — the Edelweiss. The airline was founded in 1995 with a single MD-83. In the late 90′s they introduced Airbus A320′s and Airbus A330′s for longhaul flights. The airline flies from Switzerland to destinations in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean and the Maldives. They also fly to locations in Africa, the US, Asia and Europe.

In 2008 the airline was bought out by Swiss International Airlines, which was bought by Lufthansa in 2005. Even though Edelweiss is owned by Lufthansa, it is still independently operated. They currently have no aircraft on order, but did just take delivery of their first Airbus A330-300 on January 16, 2011.

Image: YR-DIESEL

Airline Livery of the Week: Japan Airlines Chooses Interesting and Plain New Livery

David Parker Brown — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:00:04 +0000

Really? This is the best they can do? So much white and a little too simple for my tastes. This is JAL's next livery.

This new livery from Japan Airlines (JAL) is a bit of a shocker to me. Earlier in the week, I started to see people talking on the web about JAL changing their livery and adding the historic crane back. I have actually like JAL’s current livery and was surprised to see them announcing a new one already. Then I started to see the drawings of what the new livery was supposed to look like.

At first I thought, “no way, what person did this mock up and showing it around the web?” It almost looked like someone made a custom livery on their home computer. So, I headed to the source and JAL’s press page. Holy smokes, they have the same mock up of the new livery. I am a little shocked that the mock up isn’t a little more professionally done, but I guess at least it gives us a good idea what it will look like.

At first I thought this livery was a horrid idea. Going from a pretty trendy looking livery with a nice cream-colored base to bleach white with just a crane and black titles. After some time looking at it, I don’t know what to think — I might have to wait until seeing it in person. It seems like it is very, very plain, but it might have a good enough retro feel to work. I think a clean red cheat-line might have brought it all together with a little update to the crane.

It seems a little odd to me that the company would be spending so much on a re-branding during a financially difficult time, but they are hoping it to celebrate the changes. The new livery will first be seen on a Boeing 767-300ER and I will for sure be looking for her in person to see how it turns out.

Airline Livery of the Week: Air Midest (Nigeria)

David Parker Brown — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:00:20 +0000

Air Midwest (Nigeria) Boeing 737-500 G-GFFH with taped on registration numbers.

Air Midwest Airlines was founded in 2002 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Even though the airline was founded in 2002, it wasn’t until February 2010 when the airline started its first flight. Currently they only fly to two destinations using a single Boeing 737-500, although their website does show they own three Boeing 737 aircraft (two -500′s and one -300).

That being said, I think they have a horrid livery. The tail on its own is ok, the back of the airplane is ok, but the front I do not like at all. Put them all together and you have one bad looking airline livery. The font and the colors of its name just doesn’t match the rest of the livery. If you have to pay someone to paint a plane, why not make it look decent or at least not bad? On their website you can get a better view of their logo, although I am not sure what it is supposed to be. Talking about their website, if not having green, white, blue, red and black as colors, their website has an orange background.

Airline Livery of the Week: A Very Green S7

David Parker Brown — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:00:14 +0000

S7 Airbus A310 VP-BTJ

You aren’t going to miss this livery rolling the down the runway. OJSC Siberia Airlines (but just call her S7) was founded in 1992 and is based in Novosibirsk, Russia.

The airline’s old livery was just a bit drab. With only color on the tail, a white body and some red writing. No one can say the newer S7 livery is bland. The interior is just as festive, check out this photo of the interior of an S7 Airbus A310; almost makes your eyes hurt.

Although the green livery looks good on the Airbus A310, A320, Boeing 737 and Boeing 767 fleet they currently fly, I think it looks best on the classic Tupolev TU-154 that they stopped flying in 2008. The TU-154′s were still flown under the GloBus livery which flew tourist flights until 2009.

In 2007 S7 put in an order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners (would have loved to see that livery on a 787), but they were canceled in 2009 by S7. Just this month S7 was added to the Oneworld alliance, sponsored by British Airways.

Image: Anatoliy Zhuravlev

Airline Livery of the Week: Malev Hungarian Airlines

David Parker Brown — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 01:39:24 +0000

Malev Hungarian Airlines Boeing 737-600 (HA-LOE) in snowy Moscow

Malev Hungarian Airlines was founded back in 1946 as the Hungarian-Soviet Civil Air Transport Joint Stock Company (that’s a long name). The airline is based out of Budapest and flies to 50 cities in 34 different countries.

Malev has 22 aircraft, including 6 Boeing 737-600′s, 7 737-700′s, 5 737-800′s and 4 Q400. They used to fly Boeing 767′s which make the livery look good as well.

I love this livery with the blue nose, why don’t more airlines do this? Oh I have seen a few liveries with the nose a different color, but it wasn’t meant to be. Although I do like the blue nose best on a Q400.

Image: Aleksander Markin

Airline Livery of the Week: United Airlines says farewell to Oprah

David Parker Brown — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 12:00:02 +0000

United Airlines Boeing 757 (N542UA) with special Oprah livery. Click for Larger.

Man, United Airlines and their new livery has made a lot of blogs on here recently. Oprah has been making pretty good airline news as well. She gave her entire audience a trip down to Australia with Qantas and now she has her name on a United Airlines Boeing 757.

When I first received the press release all I could do was laugh, but okay I guess it makes sense. United is based out of Chicago and so is Oprah. But doesn’t Oprah always say “travel accommodations provided by… American Airlines?” I dunno, I haven’t watched it in years. Anyhow, United wants to help celebrate Oprah’s final season by creating a special livery.

Not only does the exterior have Oprah stuff, but the interior does too. On the inaugural flight, passengers had a special video message from Oprah and one lucky passenger won enough United Mileage Plus miles for a trip around the world. Everyone else got a special fleece blanket.

If you weren’t on the first flight, don’t worry. United is having a contest and giving away a million miles per month through May 2011, which is when the special Oprah livery will be taken off the aircraft.

MORE:
* Time lapse video of the Boeing 757 being painted
* Video of Oprah’s welcome message

Videos and Image from United Airlines

Airline Livery of the Week: Retro British Airways Boeing 757

David Parker Brown — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 11:00:09 +0000

British Airways Boeing 757-200 (G-CPET) in retro Negus & Negus colors. Click for larger.

For me, liveries seem to always look better on a Boeing 757. What better combination of a nice retro livery on a Boeing 757. Unfortunately, this livery is to commemorate the wonderful service the Boeing 757 has given British Airways, since they plan on retiring them shortly.

British Airways has received their second new Boeing 777-300ER and plan to use the additional ones on order to replace the Boeing 757 by the end of the month.

The airline was the global launch customer when the first Boeing 757 took to the skies in 1983 and grew to a fleet that was 54 strong. The aircraft became a familiar sight to customers on British Airways’ shorthaul and domestic network. Three now remain, all of which entered service in 1997.

One of them, G-CPET, has been painted in the origional livery the Boeing 757′s flew in 1983, the “Negus & Negus” livery. So where did the livery get that name? British Airways told me it came from the design house that worked on the livery.

The remaining 757′s will be sold for cargo use, so they will at least still be flying for quite some time!

More please:
* 99 Photos of G-CPET during its life on Airliners.net
* Video of the airplane landing with retro livery
* Photo of the Lockheed L1011 in the Negus & Negus livery (which is my favorite combo with British Airways)

Airline Livery of the Week: Oasis Hong Kong Airlines

David Parker Brown — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:00:35 +0000

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Boeing 747-400 ( B-LFC) at Vancouver

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines used five Boeing 747-400′s to provide low-cost service from Hong Kong to London and Vancouver, but it didn’t work out for them.

The problems they encountered during the first flight, should have been weary. The airline’s first flight back in October 2006 had its fly-over rights pulled by Russia just an hour before take off. This caused the flight to be delayed for 24 hours…not a good start.

The airline’s low fares were popular, but they weren’t enough to cover their costs. In April 2008, the airline went under.

One of the cool things about it going under is there are quite a few cool pictures of four of the Boeing 747-400′s hanging out together.

The livery is nothing too special, but I think it works. Big writing with the name going down the side of the aircraft and the tail looks like a party.

Image: SteveWilcox