Trigged From United States, joined Mar 2005, 151 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (4 months 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 8299 times:
Maybe in 8-10 years after they have come out of the economic turndown and start rebounding. I doubt it though any earlier as it would be economically unfeasible. I prefer the Gray/Blue scheme (I have a 744 model sitting on my desk as we speak) but this scheme now is not bad.
USPIT10L From United States, joined Mar 2006, 2573 posts, RR: 9 Reply 2, posted (4 months 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 8263 times:
Quoting United Airline (Thread starter): Will UA come up with another livery? I find the current one very dull and not elegant enough. I prefer the grey one to be honest
I know this is not the top priority now.
Why should they? They just came up with one five years ago! Do you realize how expensive and time-consuming it is to design and implement these liveries? They're not cheap and they're very time-consuming, even on the cheapest schedules possible. Look at DL, they've had four liveries in the past fifteen years, and they didn't even complete the last two on their entire fleet before it was re-designed!
Kiwiandrew From Mauritius, joined Jun 2005, 5489 posts, RR: 17 Reply 3, posted (4 months 2 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 8151 times:
while I did prefer the grey I think that UA have other priorities , I am not even sure that they have finished repainting from the previous livery after 5 years , and since they are not DL I cant imagine them deciding to introduce yet another livery to muddy the waters .
Moderation in all things ... including moderation ;-)
Quoting United Airline (Reply 4): Why did they change the livery at the first place?
The actual reason supposedly was for a refreshing/rebranding (of sorts) initiative after emerging out of Chapter 11.
Although, in truth, I'm sure that images (from nearly every conceivable angle) of a blue & grey UA 767 slamming into the South Tower of the WTC on 9/11/01 may have (in private) motivated UA to change their scheme.
My only beef w/UA's current scheme (although they rolled out with it first among U.S. network carriers) is that it needs something to better contrast it from other airlines (namely DL & US) who have since adopted the white fuselage, blue tail background and blue underbelly motif. A small orange stripe dividing the white fuselage and blue underbelly would be enough to do the trick IMHO.
"TransEastern! You'll feel like you've never left the ground because we treat you like dirt!" SNL Parady ad circa 1981
Since AA came out with their current paint scheme in 1969, United has changed their scheme seven times. Stars and Bars is the only scheme, in my mind, that looks as nice as AA's.
DreamsUnited From United States, joined Jun 2006, 248 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (4 months 2 weeks 22 hours ago) and read 6250 times:
I heard some pilots did not like the grey livery, my grandfather along with other UA pilots who flew them called it "stealth" because it was very difficult to see at night. I personally think the "battleship" livery was very nice, every model of UA aircraft I have happens to be in the grey livery.
Do not abort a takeoff because a cockpit window pops open!
DocLightning From United States, joined Nov 2005, 6999 posts, RR: 43 Reply 18, posted (4 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 5850 times:
I am reminded of the DL story.
Back in the mid-90's when the Ron Allen scheme was instituted, this board was full of griping about it and people wishing that they would change it.
We were all rather startled when they got their wish and Wavy Gravy/Deltaflot replaced Ron Allen. This was a very strong object lesson in "be careful what you wish for..." (For the record: the flag on the tail was the flag of Croatia).
First of all, UA should start by getting their whole fleet painted first. It really looked pretty tacky when DL was flying three different schemes around at once. Second, the current scheme is fine. It's two-toned, so it's easy to identify from a distance, it looks great on their current fleet (except the A320, which NO scheme can make look good :duck: ), and it's stylish.
Quoting WA707atMSP (Reply 14): Since AA came out with their current paint scheme in 1969, United has changed their scheme seven times. Stars and Bars is the only scheme, in my mind, that looks as nice as AA's.
*dons flame suit*
AA's scheme to me looks like exactly what it is... 40 years old. I'd like to see them re-do it, especially since planes aren't going to have metal fuselages anymore.
JBLUA320 From United States, joined May 2002, 3041 posts, RR: 24 Reply 19, posted (4 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 5783 times:
Quoting United Airline (Thread starter): Will UA come up with another livery? I find the current one very dull and not elegant enough. I prefer the grey one to be honest
They aren't even close to finishing with repainting the gray planes so you'll be seeing those planes for at least a few more years!!
WESTERN737800 From United States, joined Feb 2008, 487 posts, RR: 1 Reply 20, posted (4 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 5697 times:
My favorite UA scheme was the tri color striping down the fusleage (1980's). I was never a fan of battleship grey, personally I think it can't go away fast enough. I like the current scheme just fine. The 80s scheme is still my favorite though. I don't think they'll get a new scheme for at least another 10 years, probaly longer.
Alitalia744 From United States, joined Mar 2000, 4296 posts, RR: 48 Reply 21, posted (4 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 5695 times:
Quoting JBLUA320 (Reply 19): They aren't even close to finishing with repainting the gray planes so you'll be seeing those planes for at least a few more years!!
Which frankly I do not understand given DL Mainline (Including NWA birds) will be done by 2011 (just four years after introduction).
USPIT10L From United States, joined Mar 2006, 2573 posts, RR: 9 Reply 23, posted (4 months 2 weeks 21 hours ago) and read 5492 times:
Quoting DocLightning (Reply 18): AA's scheme to me looks like exactly what it is... 40 years old. I'd like to see them re-do it, especially since planes aren't going to have metal fuselages anymore.
The reasoning given by AA management has been that bare metal saves on weight, so they don't have to use as much fuel as everybody else. BTW, EA also had bare-metal liveries for their entire existence as well.
WA707atMSP From United States, joined Oct 2006, 1055 posts, RR: 6 Reply 24, posted (4 months 2 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 5477 times:
Quoting PHLBOS (Reply 16): Quoting WA707atMSP (Reply 14):
Since AA came out with their current paint scheme in 1969, United has changed their scheme seven times.
I only count 4.
1. The change to Stars and Bars - early 70s
2. Tri-Color cheatline & tulip logo - 1974
(note: fuselage titles were enlarged about 2 years later)
3. The grey & dark blue scheme - 1993
(note: towards the end of its run, some planes had the current style titles on the fuselage)
4. The current white & blue scheme - 2004
Note: the Shuttle By Unitied and the Ted were spin-offs and not bonafide scheme changes that were applied across the board.
I came up with seven schemes because:
1. In 1970, UA switched from their mid to late 1960s upper case block titles to upper / lower case script titles.
2. In the late 1980s, UA made a fairly significant change to the tri color cheat line scheme. When the scheme came out, the middle (red) stripe went through the window line. In the late 1980s, the cheat line was lowered so the top (orange) stripe went through the window line, and the titles were significantly increased in size.
3. About half way through the life span of the 1990s grey / dark blue scheme, the titles were changed to the current style.
It's debatable how many of these changes count as "separate schemes", as opposed to "modifications", but remember that, other than "one off" aircraft appearing in special schemes, American has not changed anything about their paint scheme since the current scheme was introduced, not even the font!
AirframeAS From United States, joined Feb 2004, 9973 posts, RR: 32 Reply 25, posted (4 months 2 weeks 20 hours ago) and read 5456 times:
Quoting USPIT10L (Reply 23): The reasoning given by AA management has been that bare metal saves on weight, so they don't have to use as much fuel as everybody else.
But they have to pay more in maintaining the bare metal (buffing it with buffing machines + the extra manhours).... I don't really see the savings at all.
A Safe Flight Begins With Quality Maintenance On The Ground.
26 PHLBOS: IIRC, they were a Stephen Wolfe concoction. Wolfe was also the one behind US' dark blue 1997 scheme. I guess he didn't like white or light-colored pl
27 IcelandairMSP: The new UA livery already looks dated. Not that the old grey was all that wonderful, but whatever firm designed the new one did a crap job. The tulip
28 USPIT10L: BTW, it's Wolf, not Wolfe. Gray is his favorite color. Every airline he ran had gray in the new schemes he introduced at Republic, United and USAir (
29 Ayubogg: I think the current livery is just fine. The problem I have with the blue/grey c/s is that it looks dated. I'm sure in it's heyday it looked shiny and
30 UA772IAD: The font is Bodoni(MT) or a variation of it. Serif fonts signify strength, tradition... Besides being Wolf's favorite color (it is also mine), I beli
31 RIX: Well, it's not just "grey" I asked about but dark grey combined with dark blue. Grey in general is fine, dark color combined with something light or c
32 Tharanga: I think the blue and white is really ugly, but simply saying that is not so interesting. Does this forum have a feature for voting, so we can just see
33 Arsenal@LHR: The current UA livery is OK, it's smart and elegant, but the old grey/stealth colours were legendary for me, at every airport United flies to, it stoo
34 Viscount724: I disagree. I think AA's livery still looks very modern. It's a classic. It also looks fine on a painted fuselage, forr example the temporary livery
35 UA772IAD: I think it is because they complement each other. A full grey design would look like a military jet (don't know if there are laws pertaining to this.
36 Skygirl: FTW!!! The only thing that makes an A320 look better is to see an A319 or A318 taxi past it. They're all such dorky little planes. And yet, I rather
38 PHLBOS: Looking through the photo database, that change (only photos showing it date back to 1971) apparently was a prelude to the fore-mentioned Stars & Bar
39 AADC10: I do not know if it is true but a UA employee mentioned that one of the reasons for the color change was the white paint that they were using was not
40 DL767captain: I don't know why they would change, the current livery is much nicer than the old gray one. It's vibrant with the white and blue and balanced very wel
41 Aviateur: Ah, my favorite topic. UA doesn't need an entirely new livery, it simply needs to add a little color (red or orange) to the existing one. These are so
42 GALLEYSTEW: Ask any UAL employee. They will say that they hate the SUBMARINE LOOK. That was Stephen Wolf. The new LIVERY is great. Without the California SUNSET c
43 Aerokiwi: The "new" United livery works on the tail, but the fuselage (like Delta's, but for different reasons) is a complete disappointment. the tail has the m
44 Aviateur: I was critiquing the previous livery, not the latest one (my book is five years old). I agree... the existing AirTran look is hideous. PS
45 Viscount724: I believe the current AA livery, with only very minor adjustments, was introduced in 1968.
46 Spacecadet: I was about to say a more noticeable difference is that they no longer paint the nose black (this is the most "retro" thing about their livery), but
47 Tharanga: The previous blue-topped body I thought was hideous, but I LOVE the red pinstripe on the bottom of the newer white-topped fuselage of USAir. The red
48 Dl767captain: I wouldn't say the red widget on the back doesn't have meaningful symbolism. it is the logo of the airline, just like the U on a UA tail. what do you
49 USPIT10L: It does to DL employees, particularly the senior ones. When DL came out with the "Wavy Gravy" back in 2000, I remember people referring to the logo a
50 N766UA: I think that's a decent point. When I used to work ramp we did cabin service stuff for UAL, and whenever we worked a 757, that always crossed my mind
51 USPIT10L: That's a very valid point. When UA started rebranding everything around 1998, I knew something big was up. I remember calling UA res to ask when they
52 Owleye: The current UA livery was not the best upgrading imo: the tailfin looks very okay but the blue is too common and the three tone striping unnecessary
53 Argonaut: Uh? As other have pointed out, this is seriously untrue. They had white-topped cabins for at least 20 years, approximately mid 1950s to mid 1970s, fa
55 Aviateur: No, no, no, you are talking about DL's newest look. I was talking about the previous, "shower curtain" livery. Like I said, that list is from my book
56 Skygirl: It seems to me that painting aircraft white or at least the majority of the aircraft white is the thing these days. I can think of certain aircraft t
58 Allegro: From what I heard the heat loading was too much for most of the soutrhern domestic routes ... think PHX. Hence, when Ted came out they painted them w
59 United Airline: They had plans for another livery if the UA/US merger went through. What happened to that livery? Why didn't they use it? Does anyone have the photos?
60 Danfearn77: Is it only me which prefers the current one? I liked the grey livery but i find this one better i think it looks really smart and elegant.
61 Cws818: The merger did not go through. AGAIN, the merger did not go through.
62 PHLBOS: In the case of AA's MD-80s; I believe that the ones without the black Snoopy nose were former-TW birds (that have since been given new reg. numbers).
63 United787: I believe the "new" design is the best so far and I loved the previous gray scheme! They are only 50% done painting the current fleet, so it will prob
64 Danfearn77: United787, thanks for the link back. It was asked in that thread but was never answered: How much will it cost UA to paint their entire fleet?
65 United787: I don't know that answer but because they are only painting each aircraft when it is due for its regular painting, it isn't costing them a dime more
66 Flyboy1108: Breaking News: United has announced yet another livery change. A source within the industry tells us about the new paint scheme planned for the United
67 Flyboy1108: More Breaking News: The person writing this post is inept and cannot follow directions. Disregard the first half of my previous post and read this ins
68 BMI727: The polished aluminum with the red stripe USAir livery was one of the best ever. I wish it were still around. They should at least do a retrojet with
69 GALLEYSTEW: I love the new UAL livery. The Grey/Blue looks like we were military. It looked like a submarine with wings! Gave new meaning to the phrase, "The Flee
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From Hong Kong SAR, PRC, joined Jan 2001, 7762 posts, 
From United States, joined Mar 2005, 151 posts, 
From Mauritius, joined Jun 2005, 5489 posts, 
I cant imagine them deciding to introduce yet another livery to muddy the waters .
From Australia, joined Jan 2005, 871 posts, 
From Spain, joined Aug 2006, 272 posts, 
From Suriname, joined Jul 2005, 2705 posts, 
From Germany, joined Nov 2006, 1587 posts, 
Because they're not DL or NK who keep changing their scheme every few years.
I only count 4.
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