Southwest Unveils a Bold New Look

At a press event held Monday, Southwest Airlines revealed the highly-anticipated new design for its livery.

Southwest Airlines unveiled a new look for its livery on Monday at Dallas Love Field (DAL). In a letter from Southwest Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly, the new design is said to celebrate all of the changes the carrier has gone through in recent years. Some of these changes include the AirTran AirWays acquisition, integration of the Boeing 737-800 series into its fleet, expansion of service in New York and Washington, D.C., and the launch of its first international service in July. In October, the expiration of the Wright Amendment, which has limited where Southwest can fly from its headquarters at DAL, will allow the airline to fly anywhere.

“With all these exciting changes happening we thought it was time for a new visual expression of our brand — one that marries our past to our present and sets the course for where we’re headed in the future,” Kelly stated in his public letter.

The new color scheme, known as Heart One, maintains the solid blue color overall, with the airline’s signature heart painted on the belly of the aircraft and sporting a bold blue, yellow and red scheme. According the airline’s brand website, “the palette is built around four energizing colors. Bold Blue evokes the spirit of reaching new heights. Warm Red represents our passion for helping customers. Sunrise Yellow symbolizes an exciting new day for Southwest. And Summit Silver adds a contemporary energy to take us into the future.” The yellow, red, blue and silver color scheme also dominates the aircraft’s tail.

Southwest officials stated in a news release that the airline will roll out the new brand on airplanes and in airports under normal maintenance schedules, and they planned to do so in a cost-effective manner, “so it might be some time before customers and employees see the new design in person.”

[Photo: Southwest Airlines]