American Airlines Releases New Livery to Go with New Direction #NewAmerican #AmericanAir

Believe it or not there is more going on this week in aviation then all of the mess with Boeing and the 787 Dreamliner.

American Airlines made whole bunch of new announcements today to include releasing their new logo and livery for their aircraft.  With all of the discussion around American and what their future holds it is interesting that they would make such a change right now.  Then again, maybe this change is a bit of foreshadowing for what is still to come.

The new logo is supposed to represent the future of American while still paying homage to the past.

The new logo represents the future of American while paying homage to the past.

The logo has a very simple yet modern appeal to it.  With just a little imagination you can see an “A”, a star, and the traditional eagle that has long been the calling card of American Airlines.

Personally I like the new logo.  I like the combination of tradition with an eye towards the future.  A future that increasingly uncertain these days.  While the future of American Airlines may be somewhat uncertain the new aircraft livery that was also unveiled today may give some insight to what they are expecting.

American Airlines has long been one of the most easily recognized airlines with their signature aluminum appearance.  That shiny metal look really stands out at airports that are filled almost exclusively with planes that have white as their predominant color.  In keeping with that tradition the new livery uses a silver color as its base color.  Some of the pictures I have seen almost look white, but there is definitely a hint of the traditional aluminum in there.

While the base silver color echoes of the tradition of American, the all important tail design has to make you think more about the future.  For those unfamiliar with the current situation, American has been going through bankruptcy proceedings while at the same time being in discussions with US Airways about a possible merger.

The new livery speaks of a possible merger between American and US Airways.

The new livery speaks of a possible merger between American and US Airways.

When looking at the tail of the new American livery one can’t help but think about the trademark flag on the tails of current US Airways aircraft.  While US Airways prefers a simple blue flag, American opted to go with a flag theme that includes red as well.  It is not a stretch to think that this could be a compromise of design and colors between the two current liveries.

Whether the new livery is foreshadowing of future changes at American or not, I really like it.  I tend to agree with some critics that they would have liked a more predominant eagle in the logo, but I really like the creativity of combining multiple aspects of the company into a simple logo.

The other argument that also rings true with me is that for a company with as many financial issues as American has had it seems interesting that they would choose to make changes that will require so much money.  It is like the woman who can’t pay her rent but still goes to get her nails done every week.

However, that may just be another indication that a merger is imminent.  There are inherent costs with a merger as the new airline adopts new logos, liveries, symbols, signage, and any number of other costs, so this may just be getting a little bit of a head start.  Either way it is nice to have something positive and fun to talk about as opposed to the struggles for Boeing.