DenverBrian

This. I remain astonished that AA didn't do this in the first place.

MikeORD

+1. Two logos is a mess. At first I hated the flag, but now I'm just ambivalent.

Stripe

And let's not forget Ozark Airlines (acquired by TWA).

mike1968

Nice gesture to the TWA folks. He may have opened a can of worms, as I forgot about air CAL and Reno. It would seem like the TWA globe logo would make the most sense although would be happy to see the bold red tail too.

I have to say I'm really impressed with his note and approach.

Edited after: Ozark too...I used to love seeing those Green DC-9s. I guess they could get a 2 for one on green paint for an Ozark and Reno.

All and all what an interesting collection of heritage planes...could be like taking a time machine back to ORD in the 1980s if they all showed up there one day

mike1968

Like Parker's note, I wasn't a fan of the new logo at first, but as I see more of the planes in the livery I really like it. It does look better in person than the computer renderings.

he also mentioned in the TWA link, that they are going to keep an original AA plane and a USAir as part of the heritage collection they've got.

jn in ca

For all the punches Doug Parker takes from a lot of FFs, he really does make an effort with the employees. This counts as making an effort. (Do any of the Chicago boys do this kind of thing? No.)

I wonder if there will ever be a Mohawk? I've always been surprised that he didn't have a Mohawk throwback plane, just because of the tie in with "Mad Men." Doug says he never met someone who bought their ticket because of the livery. Well, I think people snapping photos out their window of the plane from "Mad Men" would in fact sell a few tickets.

Regarding the livery, I wish those 2 weren't the only 2 choices. Since Doug is determined to stay with an existing livery to keep from redoing everything (a fair decision), I'd like an AA symbol replacing the flag on the white/blue USAir scheme a lot better than either of the gray beer cans he's offering. Gray has NOT grown on me. Still, I give him mega credit for giving the employees any input at all.

NapaPatTours

This

BearX220

I appreciate Doug's intent re: empowering the employees, but you don't put major branding decisions to a democratic vote. I know from painful professional experience that a lot of employees fancy themselves big brand experts but in practice make a terrible hash of things. The dueling different-styled "A"s in American and the old AA logo create heavy dissonance. I bet the employees vote to ditch the new tail, but it'll be a big mistake and weakens the AA presence.

NapaPatTours

This x 2

danielonn

I would love to see the TWA livery back Now its time to rename the Admirals Clubs Ambassador Clubs. Trans World One Class, Ambassador Class and Comfort Class for the Economy Cabin.

Bring back the cheery voice on the FLIFO Line "TWA Flight 884 has left the gate but is not yet off the ground please call back in 10 to 15 minutes for an update".

Restart the old TWA 1800 Line and bring back the FFB Mileage Program.

TWA lets come back to life.

carlosdca

I am going to guess here that Doug Parker already knows what their people are going to choose. Then pretend he puts it up for voting. Employees feel empowered. Very smart.

New tail stays.

SFOPhD

I know we've had debates here over the aesthetics of the new (abstract eagle) or old (AA letters) livery. Doug Parker has taken a surprising route to answering the question of which one to pick. He's apparently letting the employees vote on it. I kind of like the symbolic gesture.

As reported in:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...-aa-tail.html/
Hat tip to View from the Wing and AAdvantage Geek blogs.

P.S. Anyone interested in running an FT poll for fun and seeing if we agree or disagree with the employee vote?

edit: Ack, missed ongoing thread here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...retro-jet.html

Still wondering if anyone else wants a vote though?

Herb687

AA had bigger issues a year ago when it rolled out the new livery in the middle of bankruptcy. It is truly disgusting and an absolute mockery of the bankruptcy code that AA was allowed to spend even one single dime of money rightfully belonging to its creditors, let alone the millions and millions it actually did spend, on hiring an outside branding consultancy to come up with a new logo and livery while in the middle of bankruptcy.

Sickening abuse of the BK process aside, I say the new AA livery should include Vignelli's iconic AA with scissor eagle.

Smart branding does not throw out the classic and replace with the new just for the sake of newness. Notice how Delta was able to complete a very successful livery change and complete rebrand without ditching the iconic Delta widget.

Change solely for the sake of change is never a good thing; but hey it does help a few <redacted> "branding consultants" make a quick buck. The branding consultants hired by AA with money stolen from creditors were truly bush league. (But at least they were able to convince someone to rip off the beak without an eagle and turn it into an alleged Andean condor that now generically defaces the metal of another truly stupid exercise in airline rebranding. I guess the striking old AV livery was just too Colombian and a sop had to be thrown to the Central American junior partners in the pan-American vision that is the new Avianca, nee AviancaTaca)

Herb687

But that would force the moronic branding consultants that fleeced AMR's creditors to admit that they just ripped off United's old paint scheme.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...le_Proctor.jpg

(By the way, see that DL DC-8 in the background. Notice the widget on the tail. 50 years on the widget lives, though modernized, and still beautifully represents the Delta brand)

Jwebber57

Why do companies mess with their most valuable asset? I mean since I was a kid I knew a united plane when saw it and an American plane from the logo ....now they want to change it....... Whatever I'm going to just smile and nod