Air Pacific was founded in 1947 and is the flag carrier of Fiji. Currently the airline is 51% owned by the Fijian government and a little over 46% owned by Qantas Airlines.

The airline operates a fleet of only six aircraft consisting of 2 Boeing [...]]]>

Air Pacific Boeing 747-400 seen at Los Angeles (LAX).

Air Pacific was founded in 1947 and is the flag carrier of Fiji. Currently the airline is 51% owned by the Fijian government and a little over 46% owned by Qantas Airlines.

The airline operates a fleet of only six aircraft consisting of 2 Boeing 747-400s, and four Boeing 737s. They have orders for three Airbus A330s that they hope to put into service in March 2013 to replace their aging 747s. The A330s will be the airline’s first time purchasing brand new aircraft. Previously, Air Pacific had an order for eight Boeing 787s, but all eight were cancelled in April of 2011.

I know there are many folks who do not like liveries with a white fuselage, but I think the tail more than makes up for the white. Although the livery does look good on the Boeing 737, I think it is really at home on the 747.

Image: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren

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 [...]]]>

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

Air Inuit was founded in November 1978 and is based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. The airline operates north — way north into Nunavik and Nunavut. Many of their destinations are isolated and cut off from the rest of the world. The airline becomes an integral part of [...]]]>

One of Air Inuit Boeing 737-200s (C-GMAI) taken in Montreal. CLICK FOR LARGER.

Air Inuit was founded in November 1978 and is based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. The airline operates north — way north into Nunavik and Nunavut. Many of their destinations are isolated and cut off from the rest of the world. The airline becomes an integral part of many communities being able to survive.

When Air Inuit started operating up north, there was almost no aviation infrastructure and the airline had to get creative. From their website:

“When we first began flying to remote communities along our coasts, we faced many unique challenges. In the beginning, winter ice strips were built with community participation. In summer, improvised tundra strips had to be marked out. Dispatchers or pilots often radioed ahead, alerting the people to illuminate the community’s landing strip with the headlights of their ATV’s or snowmobiles.”

Today, Air Inuit operates a diverse fleet of older aircraft including the: DHC6 Twin Otter, Avro 748, Boeing 737-200 combi (be sure to catch the ski gravel deflector on the front landing gear), Dash 8 and King Air.

The photo shown on this post highlights Air Inuit’s new “goose livery.” Their older livery was not too shabby with some simple lines, but this new one is pretty darn slick and the orange really stands out against the snow.

Are you able to see the three geese on the tail?

Edit: Thanks to reader Ken Fielding for pointing out the gravel deflector not being a ski, “Airlines operating regularly into gravel strips, as Air Inuit do, fit them to stop the nosewheel kicking up stones which can be ingested by the engines.  Quite a few MD-80′s had them fitted too for the same reason.”

Image: J P Gosselin

On January 14th, JA805A was used on the 787′s first [...]]]> All Nippon Airways (ANA) recently announced an updated livery for the Boeing 787s and finally they are being seen out in the wild. ANA’s third 787 (registered JA805A) was officially delivered on December 30th, but it was not flown to Japan until January 4, 2012.

On January 14th, JA805A was used on the 787′s first regularly scheduled international flight from Haneda (HND) to Beijing (PEK). JA805A is ANA’s first 787 to have their international interior configuration with new staggered business class seating. ANA’s fourth 787 Dreamliner (JA807A) was delivered and flown to Tokyo on January 13th and most likely will be used on the Handeda (HND) to Frankfurt (FRA) route that ANA expects to start on January 21, 2012.

Here are some photos showing JA805A and JA806A’s new livery and interior:

ANA Boeing 787 (JA805A) departing Haneda Rwy34R as ANA1255 in the morning of 14 Jan 2012. Photo by Runway21R.

First scheduled international flight of 787 Dreamliner (JA805A) from Haneda (HND) to Beijing (PEK) on January 14, 2012. Photo by Kentaro Iemoto.

ANA Boeing 787 (JA805A) departing Haneda Rwy34R as ANA1255 in the morning of 14 Jan 2012. Photo by Runway21R.

First scheduled international flight of 787 Dreamliner (JA805A) from Haneda (HND) to Beijing (PEK) on January 14, 2012. Photo by Kentaro Iemoto.

ANA JA806A parked at Paine Field on December 27, 2012. Photo by James Polivka.

ANA's configuration for long haul service. Image from ANA.

All images found on Flickr and done by:
*  James Polivka
* Runway21R
* Kentaro Iemoto

Will the real Sunwing Airlines livery please stand up?

While in Toronto, I quickly caught glimpse of a livery I was not a fan of. I wasn’t able to catch the name, but after a little research I found it to be Sunwing Airlines. [...]]]>

The REAL Sunwing livery on a Boeing 737-800 in Toronto.

Will the real Sunwing Airlines livery please stand up?

While in Toronto, I quickly caught glimpse of a livery I was not a fan of. I wasn’t able to catch the name, but after a little research I found it to be Sunwing Airlines. It took a bit longer to actually find what their “real” livery was, since there were quite a few hodge-podge mixture of different liveries. Some examples: Viking, TUIfly, Hapag-Lloyd, Thompsonfly, Boeing Green, Euro Atlantic, did I miss any? It became obvious that this airline likes to lease planes.  I actually had to go to their website to make sure what their “real” livery was and it turns out, it is the one I saw in Toronto.

With leasing out so many planes, of course they need to keep their livery simple, but this one just doesn’t work for me. I think what really bothers me is having the words on the fuselage and then on the tail where they are hard to read. I really like their sun logo and think it would have looked nice on the tail. Also, for some reason the engines being blue bothers my eye — they probably would have look better orange. I mean this is by no means a horrible livery, but a few simple changes could really make it shine.

Although fun for airline spotters, it does make it kind of hard for your customers to know your brand when there are so many different looks, but I guess that is the down side to leasing aircraft from airlines.

Sunwing was founded in 2005 and operates a fleet of about 20 aircraft (all Boeing 737-800s). According to their website they are, ”Canada’s leading high frills, low cost airline.” They call their high frills the Champagne Service, which actually gives a lot of complimentary things not seen on most airlines today (like champagne, food, headsets and more). They operated scheduled and charter service to the US, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, South America and of course Canada.

Have any of you flown them and can describe how the Champagne Service was? Seems like if you can get past the mediocre livery, the flight experience is not too shabby and really that is what matters most right?

Image: Reinhard Zinabold

That chances are that most of you who read this blog, won’t have any trouble telling the difference between a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft. For those who might not have the keen-airliner-eye, it could [...]]]>

Starting with their 3rd 787, ANA will paint all future Dreamliners with this special livery. Photo from ANA.

That chances are that most of you who read this blog, won’t have any trouble telling the difference between a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft. For those who might not have the keen-airliner-eye, it could be a bit more of a challenge. All Nippon Airways (ANA), the launch customer for the 787, is trying to make spotting them a bit easier with an updated livery just for their Dreamliners.

ANA’s first two 787s were painted in a unique livery to celebrate taking delivery of the 787 first. Starting with their third aircraft, the airline will have the numbers “787″ clearly painted on the side of the aircraft, where the rest of the livery will be unchanged. So when will ANA take delivery of their third Dreamliner? No one is certain, but Boeing is hoping before the end of the year (aka in two days).

Boeing has stated that they plan to deliver three more 787 Dreamliners to ANA before the calendar reaches 2012. This is yet another delay in the 787 schedule. Normally I am put off when almost any story that is written about the 787 includes the word “delay” — many times even in the title. However, this is a whole new delay and just because Boeing delivered their first two 787s does not mean there aren’t new aircraft hiccups that keep popping up.

According to the Seattle Times, Boeing was planning to deliver five to seven Dreamliners by the end of the year, which is still less than they origionally planned. Then the FAA found some issues with wiring and now Boeing is struggling to deliver any additional 787s to ANA before 2011 is over .

Originally, ANA had hope to take delivery of their third Dreamliner in November and wanted to use it on flights from Tokyo to Beijing in December. Instead, it sits at Paine Field, waiting to head to Japan. At least ANA is enjoying the two 787s they are currently operating (JA801A and JA802A). Airline spokeswoman Jean Saito told the Seattle Times that, “the first two Dreamliners, operating on domestic routes in Japan, have had a smooth entry into service.”

The rumors I am hearing is that Boeing is seriously planning to deliver at least one additional 787 Dreamliner to ANA in the next few days. That doesn’t leave much time — I only hope that the rumors are true.

How does Boeing paint their largest aircraft — well very carefully of course. This video, posted by Lufthansa, shows how Boeing went about painting a 747-8 Intercontinental (D-ABYA). The Lufthansa livery is very simple, but elegant at the same time. It looks right at home on a Boeing 747-8I.

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 [...]]]>

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…

From Boeing’s press release: “The first Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner to enter service for Japan Airlines (JAL) rolled out of the paint hangar last night. The airplane’s livery features the iconic [...]]]>

HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). JAL's first Boeing 787 rolls out of the paint hangar in new livery. Photo by Boeing.

From Boeing’s press release: “The first Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner to enter service for Japan Airlines (JAL) rolled out of the paint hangar last night. The airplane’s livery features the iconic new brand mark on its tail and underscores the airline’s commitment to provide the highest level of service to customers and contribute to the advancement of society. The logo is a distinct symbol of the airline which was the first Japanese carrier to fly internationally from Japan since 1954.”

This is the new livery that JAL first premiered on one of their Boeing 767s back in March 2011 and was shown off in drawings in January 2011. JAL already had multiple 787 Dreamliners painted in their older livery at Paine Field and it was assumed that they would be re-painted in the new livery before delivery.

The resurrection of the crane is to match the airline’s, “new philosophy and corporate policy which underscore the company’s re-commitment to provide the highest levels of service to customers and to raise its corporate value in order to contribute to the advancement of society.”

I have seen the livery in person a few times now on 767s and 737s and I have to say I am still not a huge fan of it. I am okay with simplicity and I realize this is a cultural thing with connecting with the airline’s roots, but give me a swooping cheatline or something. Although it does look better on the 787 vs the other aircraft I have seen.

What do you think of the new JAL livery on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?

You might be an airline nerd if this interests you. Warning: I am an airline nerd.

On the Twitterverse and Airliners.net, there were some questions around why American Airlines has started to paint [...]]]>

Photo on the left shows the new painted bottom. The one on the right shows the old aluminum bottom.CLICK FOR LARGER.

You might be an airline nerd if this interests you. Warning: I am an airline nerd.

On the Twitterverse and Airliners.net, there were some questions around why American Airlines has started to paint the bottom of their new Boeing 737s. There was some speculation (and questioning if American is even really painting the bottoms), but officially from American:

“All 737’s have fluid discharge ports along the bottom Aft fuselage. AA has decided to paint the underbelly of the aircraft for aesthetic purposes and to prevent any contact of these fluids with the bare aluminum skin.”

Nothing too shocking, the bottoms have been painted to slow corrosion. I only hope that this is not a sign that American plans to keep this dated livery over the long-term. As I am sure you remember, the airline recently went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which would give them a perfect reason to get a new livery (even though I know there are a lot of American livery lovers out there).

Both photos taken by Drewski2112 at Boeing Field

Hot Air [...]]]> Recently Ken Fielding shared two very interesting photos with me and I wanted to share them. I figured that it would make sense to do it on the Livery of the Week, since these two liveries are pretty sweet. Here are his photos and information on the airlines in his own words:

Hot Air Vickers Viscount (G-OHOT) taken at Manchester in April 1989

Apart from a mention in a ‘Defunct British Airlines’ list… nothing!  So I decided to approach from the aircraft, G-OHOT.

Trans Caribbean Boeing 727-200 (N8790R) taken at New York JFK on July 9, 197070

Trans Caribbean was New York based and originally date back to the late 1940′s operating DC-3′s and DC-4′s on New York/Puerto Rico charter services.  They were granted full scheduled service status for New York/Puerto Rico services in Feb-57 with DC-6′s.  They added two DC-9-30′s and the first of 4 DC-8-51′s joined them in Nov-61, followed by a DC-8-61CF in Dec-67.  They took delivery of two B727-200′s in early 1969 and were absorbed into American Airlines at the end of 1970.

Check out Ken’s other photos on Flickr

WARNING! Reading this story might lead one to spend a good chunk of their day designing their own Boeing 787 liveries. Do  not continue if you have other, more important things [...]]]>

I am not going to lie. This is the best livery possible. Can you do better? Click photo for full 360 interactive version.

WARNING! Reading this story might lead one to spend a good chunk of their day designing their own Boeing 787 liveries. Do  not continue if you have other, more important things to do with your day. 

All joking aside, Boeing has recently released the ability for anyone to create almost any livery on a 787 Dreamliner and it works pretty slick. You have to agree not to put cuss words on your plane and that you are over 18 and then you are given a clean, white 787 Dreamliner to start your design. You are able to add symbols, text, free hand and a much more in any color your heart desires. Although there are a few things that can become frustrating, the tool is relatively easy to use. The key is to remember that you need to make the same design on both sides, otherwise your design doesn’t really work in the 360 view.

Once you are done, you can submit it to the gallery and it takes about 24 hours for Boeing to approve your design. There are already quite a few designs to look through online now. Some are pretty amazing and some are… well not so amazing.

If the custom designs are not your thing, you can still check out the 787 in the livery of many airlines on NewAirplane.com.

So do you have what it takes? Take a shot and design your own livery and when you are done, leave a link to your design in the comments.

Alright, here are the answers for my fifth Ultimate Airline Livery Contest:

#1 Air Canada Boeing 747-100 by Bob Garrard

#2 TWA Lockheed L1011 by Dean Morley

#3 Cubana IL-62M by Chris Chen

#4 Avior Airlines Boeing 737-200 by Aero Icarus

#5 Aero California DC-9-15 by [...]]]>

Do you know these liveries and aircraft types?

Alright, here are the answers for my fifth Ultimate Airline Livery Contest:

#1 Air Canada Boeing 747-100 by Bob Garrard

#2 TWA Lockheed L1011 by Dean Morley

#3 Cubana IL-62M by Chris Chen

#4 Avior Airlines Boeing 737-200 by Aero Icarus

#5 Aero California DC-9-15 by Ron Monroe

#6 Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787 Dreamliner by Jon Ostrower

#7 Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A310 by Osdu

#8 CP Air Douglas DC-8 by Jim Bavin

I had a record number of you give you best shot with guessing all the liveries and aircraft types and it is time to give some props (or jets) to those who “won” the contest and will receive AirlineReporter.com stickers:

THOSE WHO GOT ALL LIVERY AND AIRCRAFT TYPES CORRECT:
* Gordon Werner, who is ultimate champion and only person to get all five ultimate livery challenges correct
* Keith Goodman (@airplanegeekcom)
* Daniel Jones
* Paul Cavallo
* Kyle Duncan

THOSE WHO GOT ALL THE LIVERIES CORRECT:
* Tim Sieber
* Andy Wade
* Francesco Favazza
* Antonio Tantalo

If you did not win this time, do not worry. If you tried, you are really a winner in my book. I have said before that I probably couldn’t get these 100% myself, so do not feel bad. It seems that the one that people had the most trouble with was the Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787. Stay tuned for the next one!

One has to respect an airline that can support a pink livery with pride. Especially one that comes from a country with a history boring and gray airline liveries. It is almost like Russian airlines are making with loud liveries like the one found on S7 airlines and the one [...]]]>

One of Vim Airline's Boeing 757-200s.

One has to respect an airline that can support a pink livery with pride. Especially one that comes from a country with a history boring and gray airline liveries. It is almost like Russian airlines are making with loud liveries like the one found on S7 airlines and the one highlighted today, VIM Airlines.

VIM was founded in October 2002 and is based out of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME). The name comes from the initial’s of the founder, Victor Ivanovich Merkulov and currently has a fleet of 11 Boeing 757-200 aircraft. According to their website, in 2010 the airline signed, “a memorandum of Boeing 747 aircraft purchase”, and I am guessing those are used aircraft and not the new 747-8I. Interestingly, they also have the exact same statement listed under 2009, so I am not quite sure what to think about the possibility of them taking on a 747.

VIM has also stated that they plane to purchase Boeing 737-900ER aircraft and convert their 757s into cargo planes. And if their future fleet plans were not confusing enough, at one time, they hoped to leave Boeing 717s, which fell through and have announced a signed preliminary agreement for 10 Tupelov Tu-204SM with an option of 44 others.

Image by Osdu