I'm sorry if this seems a bit trivial, but it has interested me for years, and I wonder if anyone here knows an interesting answer.

Many airlines print the aircraft make and model on the side of the fuselage, whereas some do not. For example, LH make it really prominent, whereas BA almost never print it (except on the CityFlyer fleet which has Embraer 170/190 printed by the rear door).

Is this just down to stylistic choice, or is there more to it? Do carriers receive a discount if they agree to advertise the make and model of plane on their livery?

I have also noticed that most carriers use the same fonts to display the makes and models of their aircraft. Are they required to use specific fonts?

I've noticed Aircraft Types printed on AA A321s, E175s and CRJ-900 NextGens.

I always wondered about this myself. EK seems to have them by the cockpit windows.



I always wonder about the engine logos too. I always loved the Rolls Royce logos on the engines. CX and BA are known to have them. I like the GE90 logos on the 777 engines as well.



It's like having a luxury car without any logos, makes the car look boring! But there are some folks out there who like their cars "debaged" and rather have it clean. I guess you can say the same for airlines.

kabq737 wrote:

I have also noticed that most carriers use the same fonts to display the makes and models of their aircraft. Are they required to use specific fonts?

They might as well use the manufacturer's logo.

Strangely, BA's 777W's have 'Boeing 777' on them, but from what I can see, their other aircraft do not.

I've also noticed some 787 customers have the "DREAMLINER" logo on their 787's
while some do not; most notably AA

kabq737 wrote:

I have also noticed that most carriers use the same fonts to display the makes and models of their aircraft. Are they required to use specific fonts?

Those are Boeing/Airbus's standard "house" fonts.

I believe Boeing/Airbus prefer to have the branding on the plane, but I think it is ultimately up to the customer. The location definitely is. Some put in in the front of the plane, some rear, some by certain doors (whether they are boarding ones or not), etc.

Gol always put "Boeing 737-700/800" at the nose section.
I guess this is totally up to the customer.

I noted that since deregulation, more and more airlines eschew the need to put the model numbers on airplanes as part of their livery. With that said, a lot of airlines, I have noticed, put the model number on the underside of the nose or on the front landing gear doors. But I suspect that is done more for operational purposes rather than publicly showing what type of plane your flying.

Now the engine logos. I tell you that is something I miss. Especially those planes with Rollers on them. I remember in days past PW, GE and RR would have their logos displayed on the engines. I am guessing again with deregulation, that type of show off was less important for the airline as part of their livery detail. I do remember, though CP Air having GE logos on their DC-10s and of course Pan Am having the PW logo on their 747 engines.

Lufthansa always had a vast variety of types and subtypes in their fleet, so I assume the type on the fuselage might be a way for the ground handlers and others to quickly identify the type.
Lufthansa prints the type and subtype on the side of every plane near the boarding door, in clear and easily readable dark blue Helvetica letters, regardless of manufacturer, and not a long fat string of italic bold letters like the Boeing house font which can be hard to identify from a distance.

I read once that BA takes all their aircraft with the type printed on the side if the manufacturer wishes, but when it comes time for an in house repaint, it's removed and not replaced.

I personally like having the type printed. Gives a bit of a sense that the company takes pride in the aircraft.

I wish AA still used the likes of "767 Luxury Liner" next to the boarding door on various fleet types. Although with cramped seating and various classes of coach I don't think they could get away with using the work luxury any longer.

Iberia are a worthy mention of having both aircraft type as well as naming their planes.
The IB A319s also have pictures of the animals their named after under the cockpit Windows too, not seen this on anything else?

BojamDelta wrote:

The IB A319s also have pictures of the animals their named after under the cockpit Windows too, not seen this on anything else?

Hey mate,
Qantas has a small kangaroo design on the nose of one particular 747-400ER: the ex-Wunula Dreaming plane. A nice touch commemorating the much-missed Wunula colourscheme.
Cheers,
Bunumuring

Boeing778X wrote:

I've noticed Aircraft Types printed on AA A321s, E175s and CRJ-900 NextGens.

The A321 is the only mainline AA fleet type with the aircraft type printed on it, and it's only near the bottom left of the L1 and L2 doors to assist gate agents in distinguishing it from a 757, which often boards from the L2 door, whereas this is never done on an A321 because of the proximity of the bridge to the number 1 engine. It's a practice that carried over from US Airways.

Sooner787 wrote:

I've also noticed some 787 customers have the "DREAMLINER" logo on their 787's
while some do not; most notably AA

Other than AA, the only carrier I have not seen do that is KLM (which simply marks its frames as Boeing 787-9). I think that it may also be of benefit to the ground handling as well.

OB1504 wrote:

Boeing778X wrote:

I've noticed Aircraft Types printed on AA A321s, E175s and CRJ-900 NextGens.

The A321 is the only mainline AA fleet type with the aircraft type printed on it, and it's only near the bottom left of the L1 and L2 doors to assist gate agents in distinguishing it from a 757, which often boards from the L2 door, whereas this is never done on an A321 because of the proximity of the bridge to the number 1 engine. It's a practice that carried over from US Airways.

To the normal, untrained eye, the A321neo and 757 look similar. I can see why they would do that.

A big one is Lion Air. They have Boeing 737-800/900ER printed very prominently near the back of their aircraft.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

I've also noticed some 787 customers have the "DREAMLINER" logo on their 787's
while some do not; most notably AA

Other than AA, the only carrier I have not seen do that is KLM (which simply marks its frames as Boeing 787-9). I think that it may also be of benefit to the ground handling as well.

And Jetstar as well. Not sure which way Qantas will go.

All the airlines in India have aircraft type written in front of the aircraft. But my fav is this dreamliner logo on the back of AI B787s.

Aer Lingus are similar to LH, plane model printed on both sides beside the boarding doors, as well as a nickname for every aircraft.

Alot of the time this is for ground crew and gate agent identification...

Apparently Chinese folks like it a lot:



And there are many more...

And of course Emirates, as stated before.

Scandinavian Airlines doesn't mention aircraft type on it's fleet anywhere on it's current livery.

Don't forget Eastern...

Eastern putting "737" on the tail is totally awesome. Just like they did with their 757s back in the days.
I like when airlines show their models, specially when in larger titles, it somehow seems to show that the airline is proud of their planes and want to show that to their passengers.

Transaero had a big "Boeing 7*7" at the rear of their jets. Their Tu-214 also had a sticker near the cockpit.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

I've also noticed some 787 customers have the "DREAMLINER" logo on their 787's
while some do not; most notably AA

Other than AA, the only carrier I have not seen do that is KLM (which simply marks its frames as Boeing 787-9). I think that it may also be of benefit to the ground handling as well.

IIRC, I think AA has 788 or 789 in small type at base of nose cone
for the benefit of the tug driver

Sooner787 wrote:

aemoreira1981 wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

I've also noticed some 787 customers have the "DREAMLINER" logo on their 787's
while some do not; most notably AA

Other than AA, the only carrier I have not seen do that is KLM (which simply marks its frames as Boeing 787-9). I think that it may also be of benefit to the ground handling as well.

IIRC, I think AA has 788 or 789 in small type at base of nose cone
for the benefit of the tug driver

Yep! It's under the nose on all mainline aircraft types, and it's also printed in yellow text on the nose gear doors (or at least it's supposed to be yellow; there are lots of Airbuses and 757s flying around with it in gray). The first photo also shows the A321 markings by the doors.

When BA got their 732 advanced they had a largeish 'Super 737' text on the rear upper fuselage. Similar effort on the 757 when it arrived. Nowadays BA are one of the 787 operators that neglected to opt for the 'Dreamliner' text on theirs.