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AA has unveiled a TWA Retrojet. It is a 737-800, Registration N915NN.

Awesome to see this! I personally think it looks great.

[Edited 2015-11-16 14:46:57]

That looks wAAy better then the Reno Air jet.   

Thank god they didn't screw this one up.

For the love of God, why is it gray instead of white???

Sorry guys, I would not even rate it.

AA retrojets only work if they retained the original airline name & have the American branding in a smaller decal underneath it.

I just don't feel it here.

It's just very sad that there are so few, if any, TWA FAs at American to enjoy seeing this retro livery.

Quoting f18raider (Reply 3): For the love of God, why is it gray instead of white?

Honestly, I barely even noticed. I still think it looks pretty good. Would I have liked to see the twin globes more? You bet, but this is good enough that I won't complain about it!

Quoting Sooner787 (Reply 1): That looks wAAy better then the Reno Air jet.

Indeed, at least the TW parts. Though they kept the grey background, too bad.

Why is it grey????????

I think this just reveals how dated-looking the design of the 737 is compared to newer, sleeker aircraft like the 787 and A350. This "retro" livery doesn't even look retro, it just looks old and dumpy.

I don't know why American is obsessed with gray and can't accurately portray their heritage that they claim to be so proud off. First a half-assed Reno Air retro and now sadly the same with the TWA jet. Unbelievable.

It honestly done at bother me that it's grey, I think it looks great, same as the Reno air.

I think it looks amazing. Would rather see the heritage liveries than not.

I'd rather they not do them at all if they're going to continue to do them terribly. Stop coloring them grey and stop putting "American" titles on them.

Quoting JustinPistone (Reply 12): I don't know why American is obsessed with gray and can't accurately portray their heritage that they claim to be so proud off. First a half-assed Reno Air retro and now sadly the same with the TWA jet. Unbelievable.

   They shouldn't even bother if they're not even going to get the base color right.

Whats with this rush to do retro jets?

So many carriers have gone down this path. It adds some interest for us aviation geeks but to the broader public they would likely not give it a 2nd look.

Quoting UA444 (Reply 15): Stop coloring them grey and stop putting "American" titles on them.

AA never claimed the retrojets would be perfect copies of the vintage liveries. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't quite understand why people are getting so caught up that the planes say "American" on the side, when it was never a realistic expectation that they would say "TWA" or "Reno." Maybe it's that I'm too young to remember when TW and the others actually existed, but I've liked all the US/AA retrojets.

It's white . Not grey .

I like it!!! Obviously they needed to do the correct front logo to make it feel like the real thing, but whatever, it is what it is and the TWA retro is actually my favorite so far. Hope to see that one flying around. I'll have to track that registration on FR24. Cool looking plane!!!

[Edited 2015-11-16 17:07:14]

I admit that it doesnt looks as bad as I thought it would, but it's truly the wrong livery for a heritage jet. The double globe livery better represents the Golden-era TWA many of us love. I don't know why so many of your are fascinated with the Icahn era livery. Probably too many of you are too young to have ever seen the true TWA livery.

Quoting JustinPistone (Reply 12): I don't know why American is obsessed with gray

Quoting IFlyTWA (Reply 10): Why is it grey?

Quoting f18raider (Reply 3): For the love of God, why is it gray instead of white???

With all the planes they had to paint, maybe AA has a large hedge for grey paint. 

Quoting StrandedAtMKG (Reply 11): I think this just reveals how dated-looking the design of the 737 is compared to newer, sleeker aircraft like the 787 and A350.

          

I think the 737 is proving to be the worst option for the heritage jets. Another aircraft type would be more exciting.

Quoting etops1 (Reply 19): It's white . Not grey .

Quoting trnswrld (Reply 20): Yeah what are all you guys talking about gray? Looks white to me!?!

That's a pretty dark "white" fellas.  

Man, I loved the final TWA livery. It was amazing. This one, while historically significant, is nowhere near as pretty.

I would have preferred the "twin-globes" livery as well. To me that was when TWA was at a very high level....

Quoting Byrdluvs747 (Reply 21): I admit that it doesnt looks as bad as I thought it would, but it's truly the wrong livery for a heritage jet. The double globe livery better represents the Golden-era TWA many of us love. I don't know why so many of your are fascinated with the Icahn era livery. Probably too many of you are too young to have ever seen the true TWA livery.

Better yet

Per the AA Twitter, the "composite material of the new aircraft changed the color."

Doesn't make any sense considering the numerous airlines that operate white 737s, or considering that the 737 fuselage is not made of composite materials.

The twin globes would have been perfect on a 737.The best scheme ever on a jet was a 707-331B in the twin globes before exit outlines.The one that they are doing is not bad.

I also would have preferred the classic twin-globe livery -- I've loved that look since I was about ten years old and build my first plastic model TWA 727. I liked it so much that that's where my username came from!

Still, I'd rather have the retro jet program in this form than not at all, and at least the American logo is about the same size as the TWA logo would have been (the Reno Air jet looks all wrong without the billboard lettering on the side).

What bugs me the most about this design is the tail: I think the sides of the trapezoid (a word I haven't used much since high school!) should be parallel to the edges of the tail, and at least in the picture that doesn't seem to be the case with the right side. I'm sure that would seem trivial to most people, but I think it looks like a decal that wasn't put on straight.

I like it! The one they chose is my personal favorite TWA livery, although the Twin Globe would have been nice too (but not that unholy abomination that was their final livery). I'm glad they didn't do something stupid to the tail logo like put the Eagle there instead of 'TWA'. You people complain too much. AA didn't have to do retro-jets, and even though they aren't perfect seeing them will definitely break up the monotonous parade of their 'normal' aircraft.

Quoting TheFlyingDisk (Reply 6):

totally agree...my eyes went from tail to nose...loved it all...until I saw the way too large/intrusive 'new' AA font/logo which spoils the whole retro look  
A moderately sized new AA logo placed next to the main boarding door would have sufficed..just my opinion of course  

Looks very nice! Although this isn't my favorite TW livery, it's still a classic. So glad to see AA add to their retro jet collection. I'm happy to see some airlines take pride in and show their history instead of burying it.

Don't like the grey, but the effort is nice. Looking at the forward section of the fuselage makes it look like a 707.

Also, a very ticky-tack thing, but a question I have about AA anyway: What's with the "NN" registration suffixes? Couldn't they have thrown a -TW on there?

Quoting DeltaRules (Reply 32): Also, a very ticky-tack thing, but a question I have about AA anyway: What's with the "NN" registration suffixes? Couldn't they have thrown a -TW on there?

Re-registering a plane is probably a lot of work and probably costs money. Why go through all that just for a couple small letters? Obviously not as simple as just painting "TW" behind it.
Also, there is still a ton of aircraft in the AA fleet that actually do have TWA registration on them. They still operate quite a few more recent MD80s from the acquisition. Maybe they should have used one of those MD's  

I guess i shouldn't be surprised that they chose the plainest ,most undistinguished paint scheme in TWA history. Nothing could beat the globes. It appears that all they care about is doing a retro livery at the least expense. But then, at least they are making some kind of acknowledgement of the past. To my knowledge Delta or United don't do something like this do they? Not sure.

Delta, up to now, has not done any retro jets.

I think that they are focused on the brand and feel this would confuse.

After all, who, besides old-timers and a.netters, would recall the likes of Hughes Airwest, Northeast, etc...

This was always my favourite TWA livery. But in its original form, with the outlined Trans World over the cheat lines, not filled in as it eventually became. So ... I looked long and hard at this photograph, trying to decide why I didn't like it.

I finally figured it out. Most retro paint schemes have the correct airline name painted on the side, in the proper font of the day when the livery flew ... like Trans-Canada Air Lines, over AC's retro A319. Anything otherwise, and it just looks like the result of a merger or wet lease, with a quick sticker over the original airline name.

And to me, that's what this paint scheme looks like .... 12 days after the AA / TWA merger.

At least US Airways put the original airline names on the side of it's retro jets.

I would love to see Delta do retro liveries. Especially Western Airlines. I worked for them many years ago.

Quoting global1 (Reply 36): Delta, up to now, has not done any retro jets.

Although it's not currently flying, Delta painted "The Spirit of Delta" in this retro scheme to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

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Photo © Alastair T. Gardiner

I was never fond of it, though. Some liveries are better suited to a DC-3 than a 767, or vice-versa.

You are correct, though, that Delta hasn't done any retro jets to celebrate the carriers they acquired. I hope one day they will do a NW retro jet. I won't hold my breath, though...

Looks pretty good.

Quoting global1 (Reply 36): I think that they are focused on the brand and feel this would confuse.

Agreed. Its pretty obvious DL wants all of their tails to match.
If they did any retroliveries, I doubt they'd be of acquired airlines

Quoting wjcandee (Reply 22): Man, I loved the final TWA livery. It was amazing. This one, while historically significant, is nowhere near as pretty.

I disagree. The final livery was too cluttered. The one they chose was 2nd best but I would have picked the "twin globes" livery as used on the first TWA 707s and which survived until several years after the 747 went into service.

Quoting zmatt1 (Reply 38): I would love to see Delta do retro liveries. Especially Western Airlines. I worked for them many years ago.

Quoting global1 (Reply 36): After all, who, besides old-timers and a.netters, would recall the likes of Hughes Airwest, Northeast, etc...

I hear you, but I think airlines could do much more to build energy and excitement around what they do. Yeah, none of my friends would know what Hughes Airwest was, but they would say, "wow, a yellow plane!" If you did it right, and put some didactics in the seat pockets and around the airports, I think the retrojet thing could work. However, I can't see how doing an off-white TWA mishmash with the wrong titles is going to do a whole lot for anyone.

The bottom line is I wish they would have honored the TWA legacy with a more precise, accurate design.

Quoting etops1 (Reply 18): It's white . Not grey .

Yeah I see it as white too - the "grey" look is just the shadow across different parts of the fuselage. The engine nacelles are white - giveaway.

In saying that, could you guys be any more miserble? A lot of whinging here - just begrateful they tried. Most companies couldn't give a hoot.

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 42): I disagree.

And that's what makes the world go around.

Quoting IndianicWorld (Reply 16): Whats with this rush to do retro jets? So many carriers have gone down this path. It adds some interest for us aviation geeks but to the broader public they would likely not give it a 2nd look.

The railroads have been doing this as well, and they have even less customer-facing reason to do so. However, for them, I think it also is about retaining the name/trademark of the fallen flag railroads. Perhaps there is some of that in the retro liveries, though I'm guessing with so many customers and employees getting to experience them, they are nice PR as well.

Quoting global1 (Reply 36): After all, who, besides old-timers and a.netters, would recall the likes of Hughes Airwest, Northeast, etc...

Who you callin' "old-timers"? lol

-Dave

Quoting PlanesNTrains (Reply 47): The railroads have been doing this as well, and they have even less customer-facing reason to do so. However, for them, I think it also is about retaining the name/trademark of the fallen flag railroads. Perhaps there is some of that in the retro liveries, though I'm guessing with so many customers and employees getting to experience them, they are nice PR as well.

There's an interview on page 14 of the December issue of Trains with NS's outgoing Chairman and CEO, Wick Moorman. He was behind their numerous (20, actually) retro liveries on brand-new locomotives. His take was interesting. To him, the reason to do it was to "provide an opportunity to open the eyes of our younger employees to the history of their industry and their company." He said "they need to understand that today's NS has a long and distinguished history in its predecessor companies over the centuries, and that so many people have worked hard to make the industry what it is today." He believed that when a heritage unit goes by out in the field, it serves to provoke or promote dialogue wherein the younger folks learn from their colleagues, or (in this world of Googling on the iphone, I assume) through their own research. He says flat out that they do it primarily for the employees, and that the marginal cost of doing it, even if it costs more to paint locomotives that have to be painted anyway, is vastly exceeded by the benefits of doing it. (He does acknowledge that the railroad's fans also appreciate it and that it can generate good PR, but that's not why he was so set on it.) His own feedback is that it does exactly what he had hoped. (He was also responsible for bringing back steam excursions for the same reason.)

I guess I'm old enough to remember a lot of the old railroads and airlines when they were actually in business. And I forget that folks just getting into the industry in all sorts of capacities don't necessarily have an innate interest in the history of the industry and what it teaches us about how to handle problems and issues that will doubtless come up in the future (the old saw about those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it). Moorman, a railroad lifer who joined Southern Railway 45 years ago while still in college, is by all accounts a good railroad man and CEO, and he feels that it is so important to provoke discussion about the history of the industry because pays off in all sorts of unexpected ways. I guess today we would say that it provokes the passing of tribal knowledge.

Everything he says about the reasons a railroad should do this apply equally to airlines. And the two industries have an awful lot in common -- a lot more than the average observer would expect. We'll see if Mr. Munoz shares this sentiment as he tries to make his mark on United.

[Edited 2015-11-16 22:54:13]

I support retrojets but when some of the intended audience is outright ungrateful and insulting to the attempts it's amazing the airlines bother.

Quoting coolian2 (Reply 49): I support retrojets but when some of the intended audience is outright ungrateful and insulting to the attempts it's amazing the airlines bother.

True, but real leaders don't get swayed by naysayers. It's easy to be a critic, and they're everywhere in every business.

I love the Teddy Roosevelt quotation that I have been glad to see pop up in popular media from time to time in recent years:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Added to the little twist of grey... I will add this THIS LOOKS FREAKING GREAT!
I can't wait to see the others, including AirCal.