Not talking about retro liveries.

What is the airline with the oldest "regular" livery?

My guess goes to SIA, dating back to the late 70's...

What do you think?

Maurice

Air force one maybe?

The Air France livery is also from the mid to late 1970s. It received an update in 2009 but much like Singapore Airlines it’s still essentially the same design, give or take a few details.

It depends. Many airlines are still flying with old liveries. However, these have been upgraded from time to time (with bolder titles, subtle changes, etc).
Singapore Airlines, for example, have upgraded their livery. The current one is slightly different from the 707 you posted.

Korean Air blue livery dates back to the mid 80s, if I remember well. Same goes to Qantas and Air China.

leleko747 wrote:

It depends. Many airlines are still flying with old liveries. However, these have been upgraded from time to time (with bolder titles, subtle changes, etc).
Singapore Airlines, for example, have upgraded their livery. The current one is slightly different from the 707 you posted.

Korean Air blue livery dates back to the mid 80s, if I remember well. Same goes to Qantas and Air China.

Qantas updated their livery in 2016 (for B789 introduction) and before that in year 2007 (for their A388).

https://australianaviation.com.au/2016/10/qantas-reveals-new-livery-and-logo/

Plenty of Lufthansa aircraft still flying around with the crane inside of the yellow circle. It's been updated a bit since the original 1970s design but it's still similar enough.

If the military world counts, the USAF livery hasn't changed much. Many Russian Air Force aircraft still have red stars on their tails.

Alitalia?

The JAL crane has been in use since 1959, although not continuously. Of course JAL had difference paint on the fuselage.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com ... f=1&nofb=1

Piedmont500 wrote:

Alitalia?

AZ has changed liveries 3 times in the last few years

boerje wrote:

Qantas updated their livery in 2016 (for B789 introduction) and before that in year 2007 (for their A388).

https://australianaviation.com.au/2016/10/qantas-reveals-new-livery-and-logo/

Yep, i'm aware of that. Qantas and Korean are examples of airlines who changed their liveries only slightly.

So are slight changes considered changes then? If so, then what would be considered the oldest existing commercial livery without even slight changes made to it?

Up until 2013, American probably had the oldest without changing as they had the red, white, & blue stripes on the polished metal skin. They only developed a new livery because of the introduction of aircraft with composite structures such as A320 family and the 787. The polished metal debuted in the late 60's and lasted until 2013 as the standard livery.

How about Air China? Their whole fleet looks retro

TAAG has had the same basic livery since the early 70s. They were going to change it in the late 00s with the introduction of their 777s and 737NGs but got new management who reverted back to old livery before the planes were delivered. Their Q400s wear an updated livery but has not filtered to rest of fleet yet and not sure if intended to.

Royal Air Maroc?

airzim wrote:

Royal Air Maroc?

Another contender, although it should be noted they have a new livery as well:

Polot wrote:

airzim wrote:

Royal Air Maroc?

Another contender, although it should be noted they have a new livery as well:

True. They just changed last year I think.

CWL757 wrote:

Piedmont500 wrote:

Alitalia?

AZ has changed liveries 3 times in the last few years

Whether old or new, that livery will be erased from the face of the earth on October 15. The Alitalia logo is now for sale for $ 290MM, however analysts already announced that the price is overinflated and Ita (the new Italian airline) showed no interest in purchasing it.

https://www.agi.it/economia/news/2021-0 ... -13899674/
(in Italian)

https://www.aviacionline.com/2021/09/al ... nd-rights/

Polot wrote:

TAAG has had the same basic livery since the early 70s. They were going to change it in the late 00s with the introduction of their 777s and 737NGs but got new management who reverted back to old livery before the planes were delivered. Their Q400s wear an updated livery but has not filtered to rest of fleet yet and not sure if intended to.

Very nice mention, thanks for sharing! That livery is so nice, i'm glad it's still present nowadays.

What about OA? I know they are owned by Aegean but they still have a separate brand and operate under their own code.Their Olympic rings have been on their tail for decades now.

Polot wrote:

TAAG has had the same basic livery since the early 70s. They were going to change it in the late 00s with the introduction of their 777s and 737NGs but got new management who reverted back to old livery before the planes were delivered. Their Q400s wear an updated livery but has not filtered to rest of fleet yet and not sure if intended to.

There was a picture I've seen on Instagram that showed a -700 in the new livery. Not sure how many were more were painted.

Sooner787 wrote:

How about Air China? Their whole fleet looks retro

Except for the tail logo, the livery was inherited from CAAC when it was an airline. The IATA and ICAO codes were also inherited from CAAC (airline).

Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Alitalia, Emirates

KLM, Olympic,

Zaf wrote:

KLM, Olympic,

KLM with minor modifications has been around since the 80's. How about Eastern? The new Eastern pretty much resurrected the old Eastern livery

KLM's livery has been around since I believe 1973. It has been updated, but the basic scheme is still the same:

1973:


2002:


2014:

Logo for Iran Air. That design has been on their aircraft for quite a long time...............

LOT still has some aircraft in the old livery which dates back to 1977. The new one isn't that different either (same billboard logo on the side and crane on the tail).

Old livery:

New livery:

SXDFC wrote:

Polot wrote:

TAAG has had the same basic livery since the early 70s. They were going to change it in the late 00s with the introduction of their 777s and 737NGs but got new management who reverted back to old livery before the planes were delivered. Their Q400s wear an updated livery but has not filtered to rest of fleet yet and not sure if intended to.

There was a picture I've seen on Instagram that showed a -700 in the new livery. Not sure how many were more were painted.

I looked around and your right, it looks like at least one 73G is in the new livery. It’s a good livery though minus the titles, and interesting how it appears to take some ideas from the aborted 2000s livery.

ER757 wrote:

Zaf wrote:

KLM, Olympic,

KLM with minor modifications has been around since the 80's. How about Eastern? The new Eastern pretty much resurrected the old Eastern livery

Eastern now uses a livery with zero connection to the original, although they might still have some 767s with a modified version of the original. The Eastern resurrection with 737s that directly copied the livery minus changing engine color no longer exists.

China Airlines.
Plum Blossom since 1995, only change has been the font!

cs03 wrote:

Logo for Iran Air. That design has been on their aircraft for quite a long time...............

To that effect, Air France has had the flying seahorse on their aircraft pretty much since the start. Much like Lufthansa with the crane.

I think the general consensus of these threads is that it’s starting to get hard to beat AF, KL, SQ, RAM, and Qantas. They’ve all pretty much been the same for decades. A few changes-removed a cheatline, added a swoop, or changed a shade, but that’s pretty much it.

I like to ask myself- if you could show the aircraft to someone from a different time period (within reason here, we’re not going to 1600 with an a380) would they recognize the company? IE would a French person in 1974 see the barcode tail of a 2021 a350 and immediately recognize it at as AF?

Emirates has been using pretty much the same livery since the 1980s, with only the font getting bigger and the addition of the belly logo.

Sudan Airways - Since at least 1974...

FCOTSTW wrote:

CWL757 wrote:

Piedmont500 wrote:

Alitalia?

AZ has changed liveries 3 times in the last few years

Whether old or new, that livery will be erased from the face of the earth on October 15. The Alitalia logo is now for sale for $ 290MM, however analysts already announced that the price is overinflated and Ita (the new Italian airline) showed no interest in purchasing it.

https://www.agi.it/economia/news/2021-0 ... -13899674/
(in Italian)

https://www.aviacionline.com/2021/09/al ... nd-rights/

????

Where does it say that Ita is not interest in purchasing it?

Also, I seriously doubt that the livery "will be erased from the face of the earth on October 15". It is true that at 290M euros it has been considered overpriced, but the asking price will go down in a week, and there will be no base price in another week. (see the Alitalia thread)

The livery has been around since 1969. It has indeed had some minor tweaks over the years, so one has to agree whether they count. I'd say that the overall appearance has been the same.

IADFCO wrote:

FCOTSTW wrote:

CWL757 wrote:

AZ has changed liveries 3 times in the last few years

Whether old or new, that livery will be erased from the face of the earth on October 15. The Alitalia logo is now for sale for $ 290MM, however analysts already announced that the price is overinflated and Ita (the new Italian airline) showed no interest in purchasing it.

https://www.agi.it/economia/news/2021-0 ... -13899674/
(in Italian)

https://www.aviacionline.com/2021/09/al ... nd-rights/

????

Where does it say that Ita is not interest in purchasing it?

Also, I seriously doubt that the livery "will be erased from the face of the earth on October 15". It is true that at 290M euros it has been considered overpriced, but the asking price will go down in a week, and there will be no base price in another week. (see the Alitalia thread)

The livery has been around since 1969. It has indeed had some minor tweaks over the years, so one has to agree whether they count. I'd say that the overall appearance has been the same.

If this "ITA" thing is to be such a fresh start, why do they want even any association with Alitalia ?? Its an airline with a bad history and is (or should be considered) a national embarrassment at this point.

IADFCO wrote:

The livery has been around since 1969. It has indeed had some minor tweaks over the years, so one has to agree whether they count. I'd say that the overall appearance has been the same.

At this point I’d say the livery has moved beyond “minor tweaks”:



Cheatline is gone, fuselage is cream instead of white, has white striping in the back, striping in the red, oversized logo on tail is a different shade of green and red…

GatorClark wrote:

Up until 2013, American probably had the oldest without changing as they had the red, white, & blue stripes on the polished metal skin. They only developed a new livery because of the introduction of aircraft with composite structures such as A320 family and the 787. The polished metal debuted in the late 60's and lasted until 2013 as the standard livery.

As stupid as it sounds, do you think AA would have kept the bare metal livery if not for planes like the 787?

Boeing757100 wrote:

GatorClark wrote:

Up until 2013, American probably had the oldest without changing as they had the red, white, & blue stripes on the polished metal skin. They only developed a new livery because of the introduction of aircraft with composite structures such as A320 family and the 787. The polished metal debuted in the late 60's and lasted until 2013 as the standard livery.

As stupid as it sounds, do you think AA would have kept the bare metal livery if not for planes like the 787?

Since AAL was under Chapter 11 back then, 2013 marked their exit and their new livery represented that, not just the merger with US Airways. If the composite materials were in the way, they could've gone the same way they did with the A300's and MD-90's.

Yemania - Yeman Airways - Pretty consistent from late 70's. Cheatline to white body in mid 90's but tail the same...

70's to Mid 90's (25 Years)


Mid 90's to 2021 (25 Years)

I believe Philippine Airlines has had the same livery since the late ‘80s or early ‘90s. One of the most bland liveries out there, IMO.

Its going to be interesting to see how the current AA livery ages, and if any "tweaks" ala "American" painted under the belly,etc will be made.

Surprisingly no one mention ANA which started using the livery in 1980s except the company name changed from Kanji to English



ANA Tristar in Kai Tak, 1988
source:https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/9567446

Does anyone know when we arrived to a modern-esque Qantas era of the livery?

As far as I can see, the 1971 retro-jet did have cheat lines, but also possessed the iconic Kangaroo tail.

ER757 wrote:

Zaf wrote:

KLM, Olympic,

KLM with minor modifications has been around since the 80's. How about Eastern? The new Eastern pretty much resurrected the old Eastern livery

I don't think KLM's modifications to be considered minor.

SEU wrote:

Air force one maybe?

Hmm, I can't seem to find that airline to book a trip on.

I agree with those who are suggesting that above modifications of liveries are not at all that minor.....

And unfailingly -to me at least- the end result is a livery that is more nondescript and generic... with more white, less color, less character...

I hate the modernised Qantas livery with the "crippled" arm-less 'roo. Hate also the flowy KLM chin-job, as well as the lack of a thicker, more solid, dark blue cheatline. The LH livery without the yellow 'Spiegelei'...well don't even get me started...it's just plain terrible... Yemenia going euro-white (euro-shythe) is bland as overcooked white rice.. and those who have removed the cheatline from the classy LOT livery should serve time in a prison to ponder on their crime...

On a more positive note: I think the people at Alitalia have done a good job, considering they were coming from a truly iconic Landor Associates masterpiece. Kudos to Royal Air Maroc for keeping some colour as well, that looks nice.

And of course hat off to those at TAAG for having the guts to contradict forced meaningless modernisation at all costs, and reinstate some sense in the heads of those who came up with the 'new' design.

Aside from the lack of inspiration and the blandness of the newer designs, I invariably get really worked up whenever I read the presentations (the "spiel" I call it) done by the highly [over]paid and [over]zealous individuals at design companies...the shit we had to listen to and endure in the Lufthansa presentation was beyond laughable. To think they have merely tampered with a classy timeless design, and got paid for actually removing some yellow and changing the shade of blues is nothing short of shameful.

shamrock350 wrote:

The Air France livery is also from the mid to late 1970s. It received an update in 2009 but much like Singapore Airlines it’s still essentially the same design, give or take a few details.

I'm going with Air France as they have managed to keep both the original livery and all the original dirt that has accumulated on the plane.

Surprised that no one has mentioned Philippine Airlines. The basic livery remained untouched since 1986. Font was enlarged only on the 777-300ER in 2009, and the addition of the belly logo and the sunriser on the inner winglets on the A350 back in 2018, with the sunriser on the inner winglets on newly painted A321ceos and A321Nx aircraft.

Rajahdhani wrote:

Does anyone know when we arrived to a modern-esque Qantas era of the livery?

As far as I can see, the 1971 retro-jet did have cheat lines, but also possessed the iconic Kangaroo tail.

Qantas have had a variation on the Kangaroo logo since the 40s, but the livery most similar today's was introduced in 1984, downward kangaroo leg, gold stripe on the tail and blocky text. There was a minor tweak in 2007, changing the position of the kangaroo leg, dropping the gold stripe, and a font change, but that was superseded in 2016 with the current livery, stylized kangaroo, belly logo, silver stripe, and new font, however some aircraft skipped the 2007 livery completely, being repainted into the 2016 scheme straight from the 1984 one.

se210 wrote:

Yemania - Yeman Airways - Pretty consistent from late 70's. Cheatline to white body in mid 90's but tail the same...

70's to Mid 90's (25 Years)


Mid 90's to 2021 (25 Years)

If you're throwing in Yemenia, I'll toss in Cubana.

Essentially the same design since the early 70s, with a change to the cheatline recently.