HI RES IMAGE (click for larger). Air China’s new 777-300ER (B-2035)adorned with the distinctive ’˜Smiling Faces’ livery takes-off from Paine Field Airport in Everett, Washington on October 30. Image from Boeing.
When I was visiting Paine Field recently, I caught a glimpse of a special livery from Air China. Yesterday the Boeing 777-300ER was delivered to the airline and Boeing shared some background information on the unique design.
The aircraft displays 40 different smiling Chinese faces to represent the role that Chinese aviation has played in bringing China to the world.
“We hope this special-livery airplane will bridge the connection to bring a smiling, confident and friendly China to the world,” said Feng Run E, vice president of Air China. “With the airplane flying around the world, we hope more business travelers will experience the super flight comfort offered by Air China’s 777-300ER.”
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger): Air China’s newest 777-300ER features the faces of people who were selected from a social media campaign co-organized by Air China and Boeing in July 2012. Image from Boeing.
The 40 people were chosen via a social media campaign created by Air China and Boeing earlier this year.
“Boeing is celebrating its 40th anniversary in China. Over the past four decades, we have witnessed the rapid development of China’s aviation industry and we’re honored to be part of its success by providing our best products and services,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Sales for Greater China, Japan and Korea, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We look forward to carrying on this great tradition of growth and development over the next 40 years.”
This is the 10th of 19 777-300ERs on order by Air China.
Batavia Air Airbus A320 in the airline’s newest livery. Image by Christian Volpati / Wikipedia.
Batavia Air is based in Jakarta, Indonesia and was founded in 2002. The airline mostly operates flights with-in Indonesia, but also to China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Timor-Leste.
The airline is in the process of upgrading their fleet. Right now they have a mixture of over 30 aircraft including the Airbus A320, A321, A330, Boeing 737-300, 737-400 and a 737-500.
Their newest livery is a nice combination with a front white fuselage, but colored tail. Their previously livery looks familiar, with a bit more white, but with the aircraft type clearly labeled on the side. However, nothing is quite as classic as their original livery with a double cheatline.
Ah, the classic Concorde. It was retired from service in 2003, but when this commercial was filmed in 1989, it was the plane to fly on. Yes, the concept of the Concorde flying to Mars and back is a bit silly (you have to watch it, to get it), but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t totally rad.
Allegiant’s first Airbus A319 (HB-JZK / N301NV) after being painted to their livery. Image from Allegiant.
Earlier this year, Allegiant Air announced that they would be adding 19 Airbus A319s into their fleet. The one seen in this story was recently painted in United Kingdom Southend (SEN) and previously wore EasyJet colors. It currently shows registration number HB-JZK, but when put into service, this aircraft will most likely be wearing N301NV.
Their first A319 is scheduled to be delivered Q1 2013 and in operations Q2 2013. After it is delivered, the aircraft will be used for crew training.
Allegiant is configuring their A319’s in a high-density, 156 economy seat layout. The double exit doors over the wing shows that this aircraft is able to handle the 156 configuration (most A319’s with a single exit hold 134 seats).
One thing you might notice in all the photos is it doesn’t include the nose cone. I expect that is because the aircraft does not currently have a nose cone as seen on Skyliner-aviation.de. I am quite confident that it will have one soon.
I have to say that I love Allegiant’s livery. I think it looks best on the Boeing 757 and it is a bit squashed on the A319, but still looks slick.
American Airline’s first Boeing 777-300ER (N717AN) is showing signs of their new livery. Photo by James Hackney.
American Airline’s first Boeing 777-300ER (N717AN) has shown up at Paine Field, and not many were expecting to see a gray body with a white tail. Where is the polished aluminum? Is this a special livery for the 300ER or is this American moving to a completely new design? It looks like that they are in the process of updating their livery.
“It’s no secret by now that AA will be taking delivery of new fleet types in the coming months/years, and that includes composite aircraft,”Andrea Huguely AA spokesperson told AirlineReporter.com. “Obviously those aircraft cannot be the polished aluminum that AA currently has, so additional paint will be inevitable.”
Based on the design on the 300ER, it doesn’t look like American is just looking to paint the aluminum areas gray, as they did with their original Airbus A300’s, but they are working towards a new design. On the 777, it doesn’t matter as much, but with the Boeing 787, the fuselage is not made out of aluminum, which is forcing American to re-think their design.
At this point the airline is not hinting what the new livery will look like, but it appears the tail will be white, with a gray fuselage (yes, I am that good at being an investigative journalist). I welcome the new livery with open arms, since I have not been a fan of American’s current livery, for quite sometime — but I know many of you disagree with me. American has already announced big changes with their future interiors and I am hoping their new livery will be equally impressive.
A possible mock-up of the new American Airline’s livery done by Anthony Harding.
UPDATED: Above is a mock up of what American’s new livery might look like done by Anthony Harding. From his website:
“I wanted to see if I could create an effective evolution of the current brand. I wanted a bold new look for American Airlines, one that looks classy, distinguished, and ultra-modern with highly geometric, sharp angles and a metallic feel that creates a sense of strength and security. I evolved the Scissor Eagle logo to a more abstract form. The new ’œEagle’ is not just an abstract eagle, but also an abstract representation of the American flag. The overall brand beyond the livery would take heavy influence from timeless Art Deco, Gothic and neo-Art Deco design which symbolizes American strength, freedom, and an overall classicism that distinguishes the brand from the competition.”
Sure, there are many potential designs that people have put up on the internet, but I have to say this is my favorite. Clean, crisp and with connections to the history of the airline.
A HUGE thanks to James Hackney (@jameshackney01) for taking the amazing 777-300ER photos of American’s 777-300ER at Paine Field and to Anthony Harding for letting me use his mock up.
