The Evolution of Airline Liveries Throughout the Ages
Airlines around the world paint their aircraft in unique liveries to display their company, usually with bright colors and symbols associated with their country of origin. However, airline liveries have not always been so modern and vibrant. It’s no surprise that the liveries evolved! Let’s take a look at the general trend of airline liveries in this article.
1920s — 1940s: Bare Metal
From the 1920s to the end of World War II, airlines operated with simple liveries. These liveries merely contained the airline’s name, the registration/tail number, and maybe a few lines for decoration. At the time, paint was expensive, fairly heavy, and was difficult to adhere to the metal fuselage. Thus, most aircraft in the early ages had a “bare metal” finish.
1940s — 1980s: Cheatlines
Throughout the mid-20th century, cheatlines emerged on aircraft on various airlines. The term cheatline refers to a decorative colored strip painted across the fuselage of the aircraft. When painted with a cheatline, planes look more streamlined as the cheatline camouflages the windows. Without a cheatline, windows look more exposed and give off a staccato-styled feel.
That being said, many airlines have experimented with new designs incorporating cheatlines. For example, cheatlines do not have to stretch across the entirety of the aircraft: liveries of Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines feature partial cheatlines. American Airlines’ Bare Metal livery featured three cheatlines instead of one — blue, white, and red — portraying the three colors of the American flag.
1970s–2000s: Eurowhite
In the 1970s, the use of vibrant colors in airline liveries began to spread, largely in the form of “Eurowhite” liveries in which white is the dominant color. As aircraft leasing became more and more popular, it became evident that lessor liveries (mostly white) could be quickly converted into Eurowhite liveries and vice versa. Eurowhite liveries also provided a canvas for special liveries to be composed on.
Note: Air New Zealand used to have an all-black livery with white accents, but it’s now switching to an all-white livery with black accents. This is because black paint traps heat, and since airplanes fly directly under the sun for hours, planes with black liveries are considerably inefficient.
2000s — 2020s: Billboard
In the modern age, airlines are switching to billboard liveries, featuring the airline’s name or logo centerstage on the fuselages. Incorporating bright colors, billboard liveries are meant to contrast the retro cheatline liveries of the 1950s and appeal as a clean design. The three photos below show Air India’s transition from its pseudo-cheatline livery to its Eurowhite livery to its billboard livery.
Livery Merging: Airline Mergers
Lastly, it’s important to note that airline mergers greatly influence the livery of the newborn airline. One of the best examples was United and Continental’s merger in 2010: although Continental merged into United Airlines and the subsequent airline used United’s branding, Continental’s globe livery carried over to make the new United livery. Another example of a significant merger was the merger of Chile’s LAN and Brazil’s TAM into LATAM, which now operates with a brand-new livery.
