Not exactly.

https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/10970_1498302564.jpg

Fantastic! Been hoping for a special livery from KA for a while, I think this one was the last.

When is the RFP for narrowbodies out, and decision expected by?

The obvious thing is to stick with A320NEO, but given how late they are ordering, and the fact that it has sold very wel, they might have to pull a SilkAir and switch to B737MAX to get a competitive price.

Fleet Regeneration?
 

Wow, looks great.

Am wondering though how long is KA going to keep these frames? Surprised to see some of the older frames getting new liveries given I assume CX will have surplus of their newer 330s.

I thought the same thing. I guess they feel they have 5 years or so left at least. HYB is 22 years old. These frames were flying in to Kai Tak!

or maybe a new paint job is required and it's still economicaly feasible to repaint just to keep the frame for less than the usual repaint/c/d-check cycle.

Yes, it's kinda weird. Maybe AOG at HKG till now?

BA is still flying widebodies approaching their 30th anniversary so the A330s probably have quite a few more cycles left in them. I hoped CX wouldn't let the fleet age like that but they seem very much in copy BA mode recently, and these aircraft are worth nothing now. The newer planes still have a market value.

The current livery shows that the company is in decline. A livery can really showcase if your brand is premium or in this case, not so premium. Liveries like Etihad show that they're premium.

Anyone remember B-HOY (747) and B-KPF (77W) both in the previous "Asia's World City" scheme? Now that was a gorgeous scheme.

In regards to KA's aging aircraft, in the February issue of The Journey, they are looking at both the A320neo as well as the 737MAX. They both mentioned fuel efficiency and environmental impact, but it all comes down to one thing = $$$$$.

Now here's the CX version:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Catha...77-367/4436329

Very very different from its previous incarnations!

All there previous SOHK airplanes (742, 744, 77W) featured the iconic HK skyline, with the last two featuring some people/ caricatures/ silhouettes demonstrating the "spirit" of the HK people.

I also notice CX painted a regional aircraft instead - a 773.

Anyone else think these planes look like they're farting?

I was wondering what that was...I'm at the airport and just saw that plane parked around gate 28 or so.

Well, I guess the people on the SOHK planes are gone now, and they have been replaced by those "floating" designs aka "spirits." LOL

They only painted the rear because of cost-cutting? LOL

And for some reason, it is only regional now: KA 333, and CX 773A.

With this new "conservative" design, I wonder how the OW planes and the commemorative aircraft liveries will look like - if they will even carry them over to the new livery (B-KQX: "Our 50th 777-300ER", B-LBB: "We are flying the 1000th A330", etc.)

They painted the whole thing in the new livery, and if you zoom in the scheme actually runs the full fuselage length.

Personally i have never really liked the Spirit of HK/Asia World City liveries.

The newest iterations of the SPOHK are very disappointing, the AWC scheme was striking on both B-HOY and B-KPF. I disagree that the current CX livery reflects a down period for the company, I think its modern and it grows on me the more I see it. Etihad could have the most premium looking livery all it wants but the truth is they're a sinking ship whose premium service isn't really any better than CX.

Yes. Maybe Hogg's trying to generate a tailwind and cut down on the fuel bill.