New AA Color Scheme Confirmed...painted - Part 1

airliner371 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:28 am

Does anyone know... Are we looking at an early or late November delivery?

I think this is great and highly needed. Hopefully we see a new logo and a matching Eagle livery.

zkojq · Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:09 pm

Has AA scheduled an event for the new livery's unveiling?

Quoting realsim (Reply 43):
N717AN

Why would they start the registration sequence for a new type at seven? The convention is usually for the new sequence to begin with either 0 or 1.

VC10er · Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:41 pm

There is a high likelihood the the Creative Director of the NWA silver scheme will be the same as for the new AA. I can't confirm that, but even if it was the same CD, he may choose to do something totally different with the design. But "True Brand" who did NWA was an offshoot of the LANDOR team that did the bowling shoe for Nothwest.

They would have experience in getting the best painted silver possible. Either way, it's a nail biter!

EK413 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:49 pm

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 11):
No, look closely. Enlarge the photo.

Quoting AA737-823 (Reply 20):
That's just silly.

Thanks for pointing it to me and after taking a look at the latest photo which has been shared

Quoting sabian404 (Reply 36):
Photo of it this evening - http://flic.kr/p/dk9qL1

we put to rest the US of A flag theory...

Quoting 817Dreamliiner (Reply 47):
Im actually looking forward to what they come up with.

I am nervous to see what AA will unveil...

EK413

AviRaider · Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:03 pm

Can someone post the pic on anet? Because I can't view flickr at work.
Thanks!

KPDX · Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:33 pm

What a tragedy it will be when they get rid of the current AA livery... Still the most simple and elegant one today..

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Photo © Chad Thomas - Jetwash Images

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Photo © Valentin Ozeroff - Moscow City Spotters

iFlyLOTs · Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:33 pm

Quoting PHX787 (Reply 40):
Edit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sabian404/8092938824/
Looks light grey.

Luckily though, we do now know that the flag pole is a darker grey. I was starting to get worried we would never know the color

I just hope that if they do go with a complete re-do of the livery, that they paint the tail a color that no one else does, like red, because I'm really starting to get tired of all these blue and grey tails out there.

ABQopsHP · Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:35 pm

Wow! Reminds me of the Canadian Airforce A310s,

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Photo © Weimeng

JD CRP

maxpower1954 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:58 pm

Quoting checksixx (Reply 27):
ALL passenger airliners being delivered have a clear coat applied.

WRONG. JetGlo and Aluminagrip are the two predominate jet aircraft paints. They are single stage polyurethane epoxy paints that do not use a clear coat; the gloss is built in. Base coat/clear coats systems are not used in aircraft, except by homebuilders on occasion. They don't work very well in aircraft applications.

cosyr · Tue Oct 16, 2012 2:39 pm

I thought that AA was trying to sublease their first couple 77w's because of problems funding the aircraft. Is there any possibility that they found a lessee and have not announced it? This paint might not be for them...?

Sancho99504 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 2:48 pm

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 11):
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sabian404/status/257914133280866304/photo/1/large

Quoting Hamlet69 (Reply 9):
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sabian404/status/257914133280866304/photo/1/large

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 7):
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sabian404/status/257914133280866304/photo/1/large

in the daytime photo even with it enlarged, i cannot see the flagpole. although see below

Quoting Prost (Reply 37):
https://mobile.twitter.com/Sabian404/status/257914133280866304/photo/1/large

thank you for posting this picture, it is much more crisp than the twitter photo and definitely shows the flag pole. thank you again

ckfred · Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:35 pm

Quoting realsim (Reply 43):
If the reg is N717AN, then it's 100% sure it's an aircraft for AA:

Over the years, it seems that the three most common letters in AA N-numbers are AA, AM, and AN. Add to the information the series number -323, and the plane can't be for anyone but AA.

Quoting KPDX (Reply 55):
What a tragedy it will be when they get rid of the current AA livery... Still the most simple and elegant one today..

I sat at BOS Sunday for 10 hours on Sunday (volunteered my seat on a 10:15 am departure)) for a 5:20 departure that left 90 minutes late) and watched the activity on the field.

So many liveries today seem to be variations of each other with white, off-white, very light gray, or cream with a trim color on the lower fuselage and a painted tail. This includes DL, VX, UA, US, LH, B6, JL, AS, and BA. IB has white planes, but the red and gold stripes along the windows at least makes things a bit different. The three liveries that stood out during the day were Southwest with its Canyon Blue planes, Aer Lingus with its green planes, and AA with the bare metal.

The AA bare metal just has the timeless elegance that the Southwest and Aer Lingus liveries lack.

Quoting BMI727 (Reply 33):
Yes. There was a Boeing study some years ago that came to the conclusion that although bare metal schemes do save weight, the maintenance (which I think includes some fairly nasty chemicals) costs likely outweigh the benefit overall. Of course that doesn't count branding.

You have a good point. I saw a 738 the was part of the original 75 or so 738s that AA got (had the eye-brow patches) sitting next to one of the newer 738s. Even under a thick overcast, the older 738 didn't have the same gleam that the newer 738 had.

And if you ever look at the port side of an AA jet, you can see how the buffers on jet bridges "scuf" up the skin around the forward entry doors. 757s get really beat up, since they use both L1 and L2 for boarding.

In looking at all of the white aircraft on the field, only a few showed any sort of abrasion in the paint from jet bridges.

777way · Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:39 pm

The first should have been in the current AA livery the rest in the new scheme.

Rbgso · Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:54 pm

Pardon my ignorance, but why can't current Airbus aircraft be in a bare metal livery?

ABQopsHP · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:03 pm

Since AA is ordering new A/C that will be composite materials, I can understand the need for Grey, or any kind of painting. I have a few questions tho. Did having a metallic scheme, require lots of upkeep, regarding buffing? And since they will be moving over to the grey paint scheme, will there be an offset, between maintenance not having to buff, to a weight penalty? Less revenue spent on payroll, for mechanics to buff, but increased revenue, for fuel consumption for a heaver a/c. However I may have just answered my own question, since composite a/c are much lighter than aluminum.

JD CRP

777way · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:07 pm

^ Many LCCs use metallic paint so I dont thinks its an issue anymore, and they maintain the paintwork superbly.

allegiantflyer · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:11 pm

that is an ugly shade of grey...

wrldtvlr · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:24 pm

I came across this in a Google search. Yesterday, Tom Horton confirms a new livery is in the works. Apologies if it has already been posted.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/aadvan...out-a-new-livery-and-other-things/

[Edited 2012-10-16 09:29:33]

Tugger · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:27 pm

Quoting ABQopsHP (Reply 64):
since composite a/c are much lighter than aluminum.

Actually not yet. An equivalent composite section is about the same weight as an equivalent aluminum section (or perhaps that's Al-Li). The big saving is in the lower maintenance costs for that same section as the material (composite vs aluminum) requires far less due to composites intrinsic make up and features. I would not be surprised if as the years go on that composite is "fine tuned" and able to become thinner/lighter but for now the weight savings is not the key factor.

Tugg

[Edited 2012-10-16 09:44:04]

CARST · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:32 pm

Do you all see the dark/black spots on the grey color?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sabian404/8092938824/lightbox/

Could it be that this is some sort of foil covering the already painted aircraft until the official ceremony? The dark spots could be little rifts in the foil. At least that was my first thought when looking at the photo.

777way · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:38 pm

It seems to have a pearly hue like the Virgin Atlantic new white colour and Air India's off white.

Superfly · Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:55 pm

Quoting KPDX (Reply 55):
What a tragedy it will be when they get rid of the current AA livery... Still the most simple and elegant one today..

Agreed. It's a sad day in airline history to see the bare polished metal going away. Just when we thought I we could see the first US-based airline with a 777-300 in classic bare polished metal.
I hope American Airlines is very slow in painting to this new livery.

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Photo © Sunbird Photos by Don Boyd

dc1030cf · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:07 pm

When the photo was enlarged, the letters painted on the nose gear door read "77-3 7LA" Anybody know what they stand for?

777klm · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:23 pm

Quoting dc1030cf (Reply 72):
When the photo was enlarged, the letters painted on the nose gear door read "77-3 7LA" Anybody know what they stand for?

77-3 the type of aircraft
7LA the frame number

timf · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:24 pm

Quoting dc1030cf (Reply 72):
When the photo was enlarged, the letters painted on the nose gear door read "77-3 7LA" Anybody know what they stand for?

It's the fleet number and likely a designator so ground crews can tell it is a -300 just by looking at the nose. This is a good sign that the color the aircraft is painted now is the final base color, and all we'll see added are logos, cheatlines, etc. on top of this.

PZ707 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:25 pm

How many 737´s have AA pending before the vastly publicited narrowbody mega order? Maybe that way we would know if there are changes in his painting / livery, since no sense to change livery on one aircraft type only. If some anet friend can provide info / pictures about 737 assembly plant maybe we can see some light.

gdg9 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:27 pm

Quoting dc1030cf (Reply 72):
When the photo was enlarged, the letters painted on the nose gear door read "77-3 7LA" Anybody know what they stand for?

I was reading this thread wondering if anyone else had noticed that. 7LA will be the American Airlines internal Fleet No. for this aircraft. The -200s are 7Ax and 7Bx and I think even into 7Cx if I am not mistaken. The 7LA on the nose gear confirms this is indeed an AA aircraft.

Now maybe the livery stays the same with the greyish paint replacing brushed metal?

rj777 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:43 pm

Quoting superfly (Reply 71):
I hope American Airlines is very slow in painting to this new livery.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering the size of the AA mainline fleet.

caliboy78 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:43 pm

Yes 7LA will be the first tail number for the 777-300.

[Edited 2012-10-16 11:11:42]

DoubleDelta · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:09 pm

Put me in the small boat of people who are absolutely THRILLED to see that horribly dated, bland, tragic, unkempt bare metal livery from AA, gone with the wind! I am thoroughly looking forward to whatever AA unveils. I haven't been this excited about a livery in all my life. Even if they came up with a Delta clone or some other Eurowhite-based scheme, I think I'd enjoy it just as long as that antiquated AA cheatline is gone. Now if AA managed to maintain an aluminum polish that was similar to the old AeroMexico or JAL Cargo or Northwest Cargo... I probably could bear it. But most of the time, AAs bare metal looked scruffy, unpolished, and like junkers pulled out of storage as backup aircraft. I honestly don't see the allure and allegiance so many people have to this unspectacular color scheme.

This is what great bare metal should look like...

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Photo © Royal S King

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Photo © Juan Carlos Guerra - Aviation Photography of Mexico

Not this mess...

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Photo © Mario Aurich - AirTeamImages

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Photo © Jason Whitebird

[Edited 2012-10-16 11:09:41]

PHX787 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:14 pm

Quoting allegiantflyer (Reply 66):
that is an ugly shade of grey...

Well it's one of the 50 shades of Grey

Quoting rj777 (Reply 77):
Quoting superfly (Reply 71):
I hope American Airlines is very slow in painting to this new livery.

It wouldn't surprise me, considering the size of the AA mainline fleet.

Eu contraire, I hope they get something modern and updated....but NO BILLBOARD titles

Airlines overuse those these days.

JAAlbert · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:18 pm

I hope we have some dedicated A.net spies lurking around Boeing so we can get some more photos of the plane!

Quoting DoubleDelta (Reply 79):

This is what great bare metal should look like...

You bring up an excellent point. What is it about AeroMexico's polished aluminum that gleams so much more than AA's? Does AeroMexico use a different polishing mechanism, is it just the difference in paint or lighting, is AA not keeping up with its polishing, or does the AA scheme intentionally a less polished look on its aluminum?

I agree AeroMexico's planes are gorgeous - I was so unhappy hearing they are painting them over.

AeroSafari · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:34 pm

Is it possible it could be getting prepped for a special One World livery???

max550 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:42 pm

Quoting AeroSafari (Reply 82):
Is it possible it could be getting prepped for a special One World livery???

Perhaps, but in the past they've always stuck with the bare metal for the OneWorld scheme.

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Photo © Tony Silgrim

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Photo © Luis H Aular

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NYCAAer · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:45 pm

Whether you liked it or not, it's time for an image change. Many people talk about how the bare metal scheme looks unkempt, it wasn't always that way. I can remember back in the 1980s when Eastern's polished aluminum didn't look so great and AA birds had a mirror-like finish.

I think many people just feel AA's look is dated, and it did serve the company well. I hope the new livery is a total departure from what exists today.

BlueSky1976 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:56 pm

It's about time American got rid of that horrible, obsolete, ugly polished metal. Kudos to management for making the call.

I hope to see the silver pearl coat, like the one Northwest had or Aeroflot has now. That is some eye candy.

trnswrld · Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:04 pm

Quoting BlueSky1976 (Reply 85):
It's about time American got rid of that horrible, obsolete, ugly polished metal. Kudos to management for making the call.

Wow really? lol horrible, obsolete, and ugly. Now why dont you tell us how you really feel about it? Obvoiously you are a very opinionated person about airlines finishes and paint schemes, but to say AA's colors were ugly, horrible, and obsolete is going a bit over board. How anyone can think a gorgeous polished bare metal aircraft is what you said is beyond me. Right, cause an all white airplane with a tail logo is just amazing! (rolling eyes)

As for what people said above, that American flag is mounted on a poll in front of the aircraft, NOT on the aircraft itself.

Viscount724 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:15 pm

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 21):
Quoting N62NA (Reply 19):
Reminds me of the horribly drab UA battleship grey livery of the early 1990s.

It was still a gloss coat, not matte.

Matte finishes are now optional on some rather expensive cars. I've seen several recently.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/11/m...brings-the-matte-in-from-the-cold/

Quoting rbgso (Reply 63):
Pardon my ignorance, but why can't current Airbus aircraft be in a bare metal livery?

The paint is part of the anti-corrosion protection.

DocLightning · Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:28 pm

Quoting Prost (Reply 37):
Under that lighting it sort of has a pale grey color to it.

And appears to be gloss, after all. As for the color, most outdoor floodlights of this nature typically have poor color rendering, so I would trust the daylight photo over the night photo.

And that flag they painted on is really realiztic! It actually looks like it's flapping in the wind!

Quoting scbriml (Reply 49):
I think that's the final colour.

I really, really, really hope that their "new livery" isn't the same, 40yo, outdated, anachronistic livery over "stealth grey."

If you're going to rebrand, then rebrand.

Quoting superfly (Reply 71):

Agreed. It's a sad day in airline history to see the bare polished metal going away.

Yes, but you like faux-wood paneling, so I don't take your sense in these things very seriously.

flyPBA · Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:29 pm

Quoting zkojq (Reply 51):
Why would they start the registration sequence for a new type at seven? The convention is usually for the new sequence to begin with either 0 or 1.

AA's 773/ERs will be:

N717AN
N718AN
N719AN
N720AN
N721AN
N722AN
N723AN
N724AN
N725AN
N726AN
the last three are unassigned at this time

flyPBA · Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:30 pm

Quoting CARST (Reply 69):

Do you all see the dark/black spots on the grey color?

those are static ports and associated hardware for pitot tubes, etc ...

DocLightning · Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:51 pm

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 87):

Matte finishes are now optional on some rather expensive cars. I've seen several recently.

Yes, but on aircraft it's harder to maintain and not all shiny and pretty, which makes for weaker branding.

It makes sense for military aircraft, which don't want to be very visible in a combat setting. It does not make sense for commercial aircraft, which want to be visible for both marketing and safety reasons.

Bartonsayswhat · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:15 pm

Hopefully they can use something like the mirror finish on the McLaren F1 car.

Nice and shiny.

gregarious119 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:22 pm

Jon Ostrower just posted this on twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/jonostrower/status/258300055595937792

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sabian404/8092938824/

Apparently, the gray was either a bad photo or a first coat of something.

DoubleDelta · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:27 pm

Quoting BlueSky1976 (Reply 85):
It's about time American got rid of that horrible, obsolete, ugly polished metal.

Quoting TrnsWrld (Reply 86):
Wow really? lol horrible, obsolete, and ugly. Now why dont you tell us how you really feel about it? Obvoiously you are a very opinionated person about airlines finishes and paint schemes, but to say AA's colors were ugly, horrible, and obsolete is going a bit over board. How anyone can think a gorgeous polished bare metal aircraft is what you said is beyond me

Yes, AA's livery is all that BlueSky1976 said, sand it mirrors what I stated which was that it's "horribly dated, bland, tragic, unkempt bare metal..." Excuse my wording, as I mean no disrespect, but you'd have to be a serious fanboy or just delusional, to say anything to the contrary. I posted photos proving my point, so nothing else needs to be said. To say that AA's livery is "ugly, horrible, and obsolete" is a bit of an understatement, IMO. AA's plane are rarely "gorgeous polished," but they are it is rather nice. Even still the livery looks far past its time with the raggedy cheatline and halvetica font. It's time for a change.

by738 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:29 pm

. . . exciting . . . !

DoubleDelta · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:29 pm

Quoting gregarious119 (Reply 93):

Apparently, the gray was either a bad photo or a first coat of something.

I don't think that AA can pull off an attractive livery featuring "white," so here's hoping this is just an undercoat for a metallic Aeroflot or Northwest paint.

glideslope · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:33 pm

Quoting rj777 (Reply 14):

I'm not that good with painting so if someone could enlighten me...... would that base layer indicate that that paint scheme will NOT include a majority of white?

IMO, Yes.

AeroWesty · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:47 pm

If the final coat is to be gray or white, why would the official AA video for the 77W and A321 show a shiny silver fuselage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20zshmYxhLw&feature=plcp

I would go with the source. What we're seeing in the twitpix is nothing other than a base coat.

rcair1 · Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:47 pm

Quoting CARST (Reply 69):
Could it be that this is some sort of foil covering the already painted aircraft until the official ceremony? The dark spots could be little rifts in the foil. At least that was my first thought when looking at the photo.

I don't see them. Also - I think a foil covering may be a bit tough on the pain job.

Quoting KPDX (Reply 55):
Still the most simple and elegant one today..

I wonder if it will have red, white and blue. Be a little weird to have "American" airlines w/o - though this is not really "America".

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