New Livery For CO?

BFS · Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:37 am

Does anybody know of any new colours in the pipeline for Continental? The reason I ask is that as I was driving away from IAH on Saturday afternoon, I could make out the tail of what appeared to be a 757/767 sized aircraft sticking out of the back of a hanger. I tried to get a photo but had gone too far past the area by the time I got my camera out, but it was a dark blue tail with what looked like a globe, much in the same size and position as CO's current tail, but instead of the grid design it was more of an outline and may have been in silver or gold.

I may have been imagining it as at this stage exhaustion was kicking in from a long and busy flight, but thought it might be interesting. Any info welcome.

A346Dude · Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:39 am

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Photo © Alejandro Ruiz

Maybe one of these?

Falcon84 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:43 am

Quoting BFS (Thread starter):
Does anybody know of any new colours in the pipeline for Continental?

As A346Dude pointed out, it could have been a Copa aircraft.

As for a livery change, don't expect one any time soon. Ours is a nice, crisp, clean, businesslike livery. It's fine just the way it is, thank you. Smile

BFS · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:01 am

I suppose it might possibly have been Copa, but I think I would have recognised it and, as I said, it seemed a larger aircraft than a 737.

Don't get me wrong, I like the CO livery. Standing the test of time rather well!

Adam T. · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:25 am

I love Continental's livery as well! Very elegeant and professional.

On another note.......why are Copa and Continental's liveries so......well...similar? I mean the fuselage looks almost identical.

bingo · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:29 am

Quote:
On another note.......why are Copa and Continental's liveries so......well...similar? I mean the fuselage looks almost identical.

Because the apple doesnt fall far from the tree...

"On 19 May 1998, Continental Airlines acquired a 49% stake in the airline, marking the beginning of a comprehensive marketing and operating alliance. Since then, it has adopted a livery and corporate logo which resemble those of Continental, and participates in Continental's OnePass frequent flyer program." -find the rest here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Airlines

WestJetYQQ · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:32 am

I as well quite like CO's Livery. However I do feel it is becoming just a little bit dated. I wouldn't mind seeing a change. Wink

My £0.02
Carson

Adam T. · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:33 am

Thanks Bingo.....I honestly had no idea that Continental owned a large stake in Copa! I guess you do learn something new everyday Smile

cba · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:34 am

Yes, Continental chose a solid livery 14 years ago, and unlike some carriers *cough, Delta!* do not need to spend money to change it every few years...

Part of changing the livery is changing the airline's image. CO is very satisfied with its image and its product. Future investment will likely be made where it counts - inside the aircraft.

bingo · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:12 pm

Copa has really come full circle for those of you who dont remember it back in the day. Some of my friends down in SJO like to joke that is CO's LCC. Bottom line, You can change the livery all you want...modern clean planes, decent perks and great service is what counts...
Cheers,
Bingo
"Onepass Member for Life"

Alitalia744 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:16 pm

Quoting Cba (Reply 8):
Yes, Continental chose a solid livery 14 years ago, and unlike some carriers *cough, Delta!* do not need to spend money to change it every few years...

Agreed, the Ron Allen scheme was a wash, and while I do love the Deltaflot livery, I'm still not sure what it stands for.

The new one however is gonna be hot!

tercer · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:16 pm

Quoting WestJetYQQ (Reply 6):
I as well quite like CO's Livery. However I do feel it is becoming just a little bit dated. I wouldn't mind seeing a change.

Sounds like a great idea if you are paying for the fleet re-paint crossfingers

zschocheimages · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:25 pm

What about any of these?

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...earch/photo_search.php?id=00005209

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...earch/photo_search.php?id=00006045

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...earch/photo_search.php?id=00002137

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...earch/photo_search.php?id=00002138

And my personal favorite...

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...earch/photo_search.php?id=00000479

JetBlueGuy2006 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:38 pm

Quoting ZschocheImages (Reply 12):
What about any of these?

First One - ok
Second One - Horrible
Third, Fourth - My fav
Last One - Cool, but I like the look of the other 2 (3, 4) better

airtran737 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:41 pm

Classy

KevinSmith · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:42 pm

I was just thinking about that today. But I gotta agree with Falcon84.

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 2):
Ours is a nice, crisp, clean, businesslike livery. It's fine just the way it is, thank you. Smile

WesternA318 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:53 pm

Quoting JetBlueGuy2006 (Reply 13):
First One - ok
Second One - Horrible
Third, Fourth - My fav
Last One - Cool, but I like the look of the other 2 (3, 4) better

The third one just looks like a classy upgrade of the current and former liveries all in one..

AlexPorter · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:55 pm

The only thing I think I might change about CO's livery is just adding a little bit of dimension to it. One non-aviation example I can think of is how Chevron slightly updated its logo recently, but it is still basically the same thing.

So, if maybe CO either raised or lowered the cheatline around the nose, or added a little bit more texture to the typeface and globe it would look very nice, but still the same basic identity. Like a little refreshment rather than an entire change. But I am a fan of CO's current livery quite a bit - I do have to say that it looks much less than 17 years old!

WestJetYQQ · Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:58 pm

Quoting Tercer (Reply 11):
Sounds like a great idea if you are paying for the fleet re-paint

Quoting ZschocheImages (Reply 12):
And my personal favorite...

Its Mine Too. Repaint the whole fleet like that! If I Owned CO I would pay fot it, Tercer. Wink

Cheers
WS

Falcon84 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:13 pm

Hideous! And besides, we have no 747's. Smile

Even worse!!

Now, that one is pretty nice, although I think most CO employees who've been around for a while don't want the meatball back. But that looks pretty damn good.

Might be my favorite. Very bold and sleek. but keeps the crisp, business like look in tact.

Not bad, but I don't like the large lettering at all.

cba · Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:21 pm

Quoting Alitalia744 (Reply 10):

The new one however is gonna be hot!

DL's releasing yet another livery! Whew, I hope this one's good. I actually liked the 1997 Delta livery better than the new Deltaflot scheme, although I still do miss the old widget.

Regarding the fantasy CO liveries, the one with the neo-meatball is very classy, however, maybe use the tail logo from the final 787 one instead of the meatball?

WestJetYQQ · Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:21 pm

It's a tie between 3 and 4!

Filler

Filler

antoniemey · Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:22 pm

Take the Emblem from 4/5, change it to gold, and put it on 3... and lose the gold nacelles...

Nah... still wouldn't look as good as the current ones...

floridaflyboy · Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:45 pm

Quoting Alitalia744 (Reply 10):
Agreed, the Ron Allen scheme was a wash, and while I do love the Deltaflot livery, I'm still not sure what it stands for.

The new one however is gonna be hot!

Is DL re-doing their livery AGAIN? How did I miss that one?

WestJetYQQ · Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:03 pm

Quoting Floridaflyboy (Reply 23):
Is DL re-doing their livery AGAIN? How did I miss that one?

Ditto!

Garri767 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:07 pm

Quoting ZschocheImages (Reply 12):
What about any of these?

sorry, i absolutely LOVE the way they "modernized" the meatball into that livery. if only DL could do the same with widget...

tristanhnl · Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:24 pm

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 19):
although I think most CO employees who've been around for a while don't want the meatball back.

I agree. Although the meatball was around when Continental aircraft were referred to as the "proud bird with the golden tail" back in the 70's, it is now mostly associated with the horrible Lorenzo era. I cringed a bit when I saw livery #3, even though it looks classy and sharp.

rampart · Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:48 pm

Weird. I was watching a CO plane fly over today and said to myself, "timeless livery, no need to change it, but I'll bet someone from A.net suggests one, though".

No, keep this one. Like American. Solid, pure, and unmistakable. Besides, CO isn't in need of reinventing itself like other airlines recently.

Comments on an earlier thread about reintroducing the "meatball" livery in a retro-plane (Peter Max repaint) or new identity? Don't go there. Too much association with the Lorenzo years and a couple of bankruptcies. (but an early 60's retro?, maybe)

-Rampart

EA CO AS · Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:42 pm

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 2):
Ours is a nice, crisp, clean, businesslike livery. It's fine just the way it is, thank you.

Elite · Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:37 pm

3,4 and 5 are amazing. Personally I'd go with number 5, but any of those I'll be happy.

jcf5002 · Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:38 pm

You know... I'm begginning to wonder, what the ratio is between "...livery..." threads and "When is NW going to retire its DC-9" threads? Its gotta be close!

-Jeff

zschocheimages · Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:04 am

Quoting Jcf5002 (Reply 30):
You know... I'm begginning to wonder, what the ratio is between "...livery..." threads and "When is NW going to retire its DC-9" threads? Its gotta be close!

Good call. Pretty soon there are going to be posts trying to guess when the next NW DC-9 post will be.

Quoting Garri767 (Reply 25):
sorry, i absolutely LOVE the way they "modernized" the meatball into that livery. if only DL could do the same with widget...

I agree, but I don't think that DL will change anytime soon based on the fact that the current livery has only been around for 6 or so years and it replaced one that had only been around for 4 or so years. I guess they are just trying to make up for having the same livery for the previous 30 years. wink

malmoaviation · Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:23 am

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 19):
Picture Number Four

The number four is great. But, the color-scheme is blue, and should continue being that. Maybe change the blue planet into a gold-colored planet? Otherwise I like it a lot.

snaiks · Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:33 am

but the question is. if it was a bigger plane than a 737 painted for copa? maybe a 767 getting ready for transatlantic flights? if it was a CM 737, why will they be in IAH? strange. i hope is the first one

Alitalia744 · Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:39 am

Quoting ZschocheImages (Reply 31):
I agree, but I don't think that DL will change anytime soon based on the fact that the current livery has only been around for 6 or so years and it replaced one that had only been around for 4 or so years. I guess they are just trying to make up for having the same livery for the previous 30 years.

you'd be surprised Smile

I smell a widget.

RICARIZA · Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:53 am

Quoting Adam T. (Reply 7):
Thanks Bingo.....I honestly had no idea that Continental owned a large stake in Copa! I guess you do learn something new everyday

And in 2005, CM bought AeroRepública (P5) -the second largest airline in Colombia after Avianca - and recently changed its image to CO like too:

Xkorpyoh · Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:09 am

Quoting WestJetYQQ (Reply 6):
I as well quite like CO's Livery. However I do feel it is becoming just a little bit dated. I wouldn't mind seeing a change.

me too.. it is very 1992... and that globe logo has been overused by so many companies

Quoting ZschocheImages (Reply 12):
What about any of these?

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...05209

I still like this updated globe logo, but the whole livery is not convincing.

steeler83 · Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:26 am

Quoting TristanHNL (Reply 26):
Although the meatball was around when Continental aircraft were referred to as the "proud bird with the golden tail" back in the 70's, it is now mostly associated with the horrible Lorenzo era.

Kinda similar to the story behind the USAir livery from the late 1970s to about 1991. Yet, when I was flying back to PHL from PIT on the day after Christmas, I saw an apparent US employee wearing a jacket with USAir in the red and brown scheme. I was like, "man, that jacket be vintage looking." He turned around, chuckled, and said, "yep, talking about years of service/devotion..." something along those lines anyway. If he was a former Piedmont or PSA worker, I doubt he would've been wearing it. He would've said something like, "Yeah, they gave me this jacket, but wouldn't you know that after I got it the pilot light in my water heater went out? I needed something to start it with..."

nosedive · Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:29 am

Quoting Garri767 (Reply 25):
sorry, i absolutely LOVE the way they "modernized" the meatball into that livery. if only DL could do the same with widget...

They did update the widget itself in 2000, and it sucked. They brought the "old" widget in 2004.
A "old" 1959-2000, 2004-now B 2000-2004

747luvr · Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:24 am

Hey...CO would have a 747 if it ate up UA....haha...I had to get this in..

rootsair · Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:07 am

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 19):
Might be my favorite. Very bold and sleek. but keeps the crisp, business like look in tact.

Too Eurowhite

The best is the meatball one, though if you change it to a globe its just perfect!

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 2):
As for a livery change, don't expect one any time soon. Ours is a nice, crisp, clean, businesslike livery. It's fine just the way it is, thank you. Smile

Quoting Adam T. (Reply 4):
why are Copa and Continental's liveries so......well...similar?

Keep the livery as it is.
BTW I prefer the tail logo on COPA.
P.S Wasn't COPA meant to be called COPA continental but the Panamian company refused?

[Edited 2007-02-06 19:11:23]

CM767 · Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:10 am

Quoting RootsAir (Reply 40):
Wasn't COPA meant to be called COPA continental but the Panamian company refused?

Possible but never heard that, the joke I heard was that that CO bought it because the changing the name was easy, form Compañia Panameña de Aviacion to COntinental PAnama.

WesternA318 · Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:13 am

Quoting CM767 (Reply 41):
Possible but never heard that, the joke I heard was that that CO bought it because the changing the name was easy, form Compañia Panameña de Aviacion to COntinental PAnama.

They are just as good as CO for that part of the world...

ABQopsHP · Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:12 am

The current scheme was super when it came out in the early 90s. The first time I saw it in ELP, I asked to go up and take a look inside. What a calming effect the interior had, nice dark blue with grey walls. I was from the "Goldenjet" era, of CO, and it was time for that image to be put away. Although I like a few of those livery choices, the current one is fine, but could use some updating or use the 3rd or 4th choice. By all means, I sure hope that no airline chooses the "BILLBOARD" especially CO. Its a tacky and cheep looking paint scheme and looks god awfull. F9 should have kept the signature paint scheme IMO.
BTW: yes I didnt like our flintstones paintscheme either. Nice colors but......

tommy767 · Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:39 am

CO current logo is classy and clean. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't opt out for a new paint scheme sometime soon (its kinda been a while...)

A340Spotter · Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:51 am

To get the thread back onto BFS's original question, here's your likely answer:

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Photo © John Harris

The Aramco hangar is located at the end of JFK Blvd. on the right. The B762 is based there, when it's in town...

Cheers
JSD

PHLBOS · Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:32 am

Personally, the only things I would change w/CO's present livery would be to make the gold stripe a little wider (but not too wide) and go w/a slightly darker shade of gray for the underbelly; that way it doesn't get mistaken for a Eurowhite scheme due to lack of contrast.

WTXJET · Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:07 am

The current Continental logo was introduced in February 1991 by CEO Hollis Harris. The 'new' look was introduced on aircraft 318 a 737-300.

zippyjet · Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:35 am

Quoting Falcon84 (Reply 2):
As for a livery change, don't expect one any time soon. Ours is a nice, crisp, clean, businesslike livery. It's fine just the way it is, thank you.

Quoting Adam T. (Reply 4):
I love Continental's livery as well! Very elegeant and professional.

Couldn't have said better if I said it myself!

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