When did AA remove LuxuryLiner and LuxuryJet from its aircraft?

Eastern used Whisperliner and Whisperjet.

Who was first to brand their aircraft?

Was one in response to the other’s use or were they rolled out independently?

They were removed generally after 9/11 and the end of “More room throughout coach”. The 777s never got the titles though, so I think the idea was dropped long before then and they just didn’t bother removing the already applied decals.

questions wrote:

When did AA remove LuxuryLiner and LuxuryJet from its aircraft?

Eastern used Whisperliner and Whisperjet.

Who was first to brand their aircraft?

Was one in response to the other’s use or were they rolled out independently?

That was pretty common in the industry decades ago. Allegheny called their new DC-9s Vista Jets and Texas International called theirs Pamper Jets. Delta offered Royal Jet Service on the DC-8s. In the days of regulated fares, branding was one way to differentiate product.

DC-3s were Flagships and Mainliners......

I think AA stopped using the “Luxury Liner” slogan after AA191’s crash in ORD back in May, 1979.

lx2iah wrote:

I think AA stopped using the “Luxury Liner” slogan after AA191’s crash in ORD back in May, 1979.

No, they continued to use it. They just removed “DC-10“ in front of “Luxury Liner” and replaced them so it read “American Airlines Luxury Liner” instead. The 767s which arrived well after AA191 got the standard “767 Luxury Liner” titles.

Before LuxuryLiners and LuxuryJets American had AstroLiners and AstroJets.

I think it wasn't until around 2006 until American started removing the titles.

Sad, but really... Were their a/c in truth different or more luxurious that any other major airline's back in the day?

Thank you, Polot- you’re right - I forgot they removed the DC-10 label and added “American Airlines” Luxury Liner.

GSPSPOT wrote:

Sad, but really... Were their a/c in truth different or more luxurious that any other major airline's back in the day?

It started around 1972-73 timeframe when AA introduced its 747s and DC-10s with lounges for coach as well as first class. Then the 707s were given a makeover of their interiors. Chet Huntley the newscaster did a series of TV commercials where he would say, “Only American has the Luxury Fleet.”

The 747 also had a piano lounge and Henry Winkler “Fonzie” from the Happy Days TV series was shown in the piano lounge.

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

MO11 wrote:

DC-3s were Flagships and Mainliners......

Mainliners is United

D L X wrote:

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

As does Air France once again.

Now the luxury is gone. Two first class flights, no hot meal. Coach flights on return, no food for purchase, not even the chips. These were coast to coast itineraries connecting in DFW.

Back in the 80s those same flights had omelettes for breakfast and steaks for dinner in F with sundaes and coach had choices of hot meals included.

NYCAAer wrote:

D L X wrote:

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

As does Air France once again.

It's not the same thing, but I like Frontier's livery with all of those different animals.

Appears as if 757 Luxuryliner signage was removed from the 757 fleet during 2003. Not certain about other fleet types.

SkyVoice wrote:

NYCAAer wrote:

D L X wrote:

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

As does Air France once again.

It's not the same thing, but I like Frontier's livery with all of those different animals.

Agreed. I've never flown Frontier, but I'm hoping they are a beneficiary of the Jetblue/Spirit merger and subsequent elimination of allot of ULCC routes.

GSPSPOT wrote:

Sad, but really... Were their a/c in truth different or more luxurious that any other major airline's back in the day?

Was Coca Cola "the real thing"?

ikramerica wrote:

Now the luxury is gone. Two first class flights, no hot meal. Coach flights on return, no food for purchase, not even the chips. These were coast to coast itineraries connecting in DFW.

Back in the 80s those same flights had omelettes for breakfast and steaks for dinner in F with sundaes and coach had choices of hot meals included.

blah, blah, blah. Back in the 80's people were paying a lot more for their tickets. People spoke. They want low prices and, even though they love to complain about what they DON'T get, they'll purchase the cheapest ticket regardless.

ikramerica wrote:

Now the luxury is gone. Two first class flights, no hot meal. Coach flights on return, no food for purchase, not even the chips. These were coast to coast itineraries connecting in DFW.

Back in the 80s those same flights had omelettes for breakfast and steaks for dinner in F with sundaes and coach had choices of hot meals included.

The sundaes were dropped from sub 4 hour routes before the pandemic. Sad reality.

I'm thinking "Luxury ___" may have been challenged by labelling the F-100 "Luxury Jet". So not, so that may have made it seem like a joke anymore.

I think aviation labeling of that sort derived from how train companies used to label there lines and individual cars, especially true when new technologies emerged such as the fan jet or when a new aircraft type has been introduced to the market (Boeing's DreamLiner, for example). It is quite effective as I remember always thinking an AA DC-10 LuxuryLiner was something unique and special, a really heavy-weight in luxury, even when I never stepped foot on one.

United ended the Mainliner moniker when they introduced Friendship service in the early 70’s.

D L X wrote:

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

I mean, “New Number Blue Dis” isn’t exactly classy.

ContinentalEWR wrote:

ScottB wrote:

questions wrote:

When did AA remove LuxuryLiner and LuxuryJet from its aircraft?

Eastern used Whisperliner and Whisperjet.

Who was first to brand their aircraft?

Was one in response to the other’s use or were they rolled out independently?

That was pretty common in the industry decades ago. Allegheny called their new DC-9s Vista Jets and Texas International called theirs Pamper Jets. Delta offered Royal Jet Service on the DC-8s. In the days of regulated fares, branding was one way to differentiate product.

TWA applied the moniker "Skyliner" to their 747s.

Continental used 'Golden Jet' on 707s and probably other jets.

Blerg wrote:

NYCAAer wrote:

D L X wrote:

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

As does Air France once again.

Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot ... still give their planes names.

So does Aer Lingus...

Yes, the DC10 LuxuryLiner became the American Airlines LuxuryLiner after Flight 191 in ORD. Not for certain but Pan Am named all of their Clippers with a unique titian for that particular aircraft (Clipper Defiance, Clipper Maid Of The Mist, Clipper Moonlight).
Sorry, i’m going too far back. As far back as i can remember, Whisperjet/liner (EA), Astrojet/liner (AA), Star Stream Jet (TWA), Friendships (UA), Royal Jets (DL…this was back in the early DC8 days), Arrowjets (FL. If I am not mistaken they came up with the name when they began receiving their short-lived 727 fleet). When NW Obtained their first 707s and 720s they were called “The Fan Jet Airline”). Northeast had Yellowbirds. I know National called their 747s Sun Kings, but am not sure if they did that on any other aircraft type. Golden Jet (CO).Piedmont named their aircraft after parts of their route system. I flew a YS-11 “The Shenandoah Valley Pacemaker” I don’t know if they named any jets except the 767 which they named after their founder Tom Davis.
I always used to chuckle when I saw a DC9 or 727 Whisperjet. For those sitting in the back of the aircraft, nothing could have been further from the truth!

.

If I remember correctly, the 777s never had the Luxury Liner decals. The 737s never had the Luxury Jet decals. Both of those aircraft entered service in 1999. As someone else said, after the troubles with the DC-10, AA decided not to put "DC-10 Luxury Liner" on the fleet. But, I remember the MD-11s being identified. The MD-80s had the decal "Super 80 Luxury Jet."

The decals were removed, as aircraft came in for heavy maintenance, sometime after 9/11. I seem to recall that the removal was described as saving several pounds on each aircraft.

Qantas59 wrote:

Appears as if 757 Luxuryliner signage was removed from the 757 fleet during 2003. Not certain about other fleet types.

I think this branding were wiped out on the 757s first. Like I don't think the ex-TWA 757s ever got them at AA.

dtw9 wrote:

United ended the Mainliner moniker when they introduced Friendship service in the early 70’s.

True but (not sure if this counts) UA had the "Worldwide Service" decal on all of the 1990s gray livery. Much like what UPS still has on their trucks today.

dtw9 wrote:

United ended the Mainliner moniker when they introduced Friendship service in the early 70’s.

IF I recall correctly, when the original 737 fleet arrived, they were named "city of Fort Wayne Friendship" or such..using numerous cities frequented by the 737 fleet in those days such as Lincoln, or Moline, or Flint, etc. Maybe this coincided with the naming of the original 747's after senior (I presumed retired) captains.
Maybe someone's memory is a tad clearer..but that is what I seem to recall.

N766UA wrote:

D L X wrote:

I miss the days of christening the planes. I’m glad JetBlue has stuck with it. Nice touch.

I mean, “New Number Blue Dis” isn’t exactly classy.

Neither is cherry picking.