liveries

Special livery and new tailfin design for JetBlue

Check out the special livery JetBlue just rolled out on an Embraer 190, one the 100-seat airplanes the carrier uses to serve key cities such as Boston, Washington, D.C. and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The “Blueprint” paint scheme is designed to showcase the “bones” of the 100-seat aircraft and according to JetBlue draws on the styles of various aviation, nautical and space exploration vehicle cut-away diagrams.

“Mechanical features like the nose gear, jet engine and yoke were among the more obvious design elements to include,” JetBlue said in a statement, “But for the onboard features, JetBlue designers drew upon their own travel experiences, crewmember tales, and the airline’s loyal customers for inspiration, even creating fictional characters to compile a list of the items they might be traveling with. Plane spotters are encouraged to give the overhead bins, under-seat storage areas, and the luggage holds a closer look to see if they can spot the nearly 50 items these “Blueprint” customers are traveling with.”

 

The special – and first – JetBlue E190 special livery debuted at Boston’s Logan International Airport and will operate on routes served by the E190 throughout the JetBlue network.

But wait, there’s more!

As part of its 17th anniversary celebrations, JetBlue also introduced a new tailfin design that will appear on multiple aircraft this year. The design is the airline’s take on the iconic NY skyline.

“The design, which depicts the image of bright lights through window panes of city high-rises, is meant to reflect JetBlue’s growth and New York’s perpetual desire to reach for the sky. Four of JetBlue’s signature colors are reflected in “Highrise” and the illuminated windows can be rearranged creating a slightly different pattern on different aircraft tailfins,” JetBlue said in a statement.

The “Highrise” pattern debuted at JFK airport and will be added to additional aircraft this year.

Travel Tidbits: Travel Ban + Air Canada

In the news as the week ends…

A federal appeals court refused to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations.

Trump’s response:

Meanwhile…

Air Canada is celebrating its 80th anniversary and on Thursday had a series of events in several Canadian cities  to introduce a new livery design and new employee uniforms.

The new design will eventually appear on Air Canada‘s fleet of 300 mainline and regional aircraft, but the first three aircraft sporting the new livery are already flying.

Stay tuned to StuckatTheAirport.com this weekend for a report on my 24 hour  – intended – stay at Charles de Gaulle Airport, with an overnight at the new in-terminal Yotel.  Plotting out my meals, my shopping and my sleeping in a tiny, windowless cabin.

 

Alaska Air marks Virgin America merger with special plane & a party

On Wednesday, Alaska Airlines flew a special liveried plane bearing the slogan “More to Love” from Seattle to San Francisco to mark the official closing of the carrier’s acquisition of Virgin America.

I covered the day for USA TODAY and you can read my story there about some of the details of the “going forth” plans shared during the day – most notably that, for now, Virgin America will stay branded as Virgin America, moonlit cabins and all, and that the mileage plans will be reciprocal.

But here are some pictures from the day:

 

*(All photos by Harriet Baskas)

Hawaiian Airlines’ 3 new liveries for Disney’s “Moana”

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A new Hawaiian-themed Hawaiian themed move – “Moana” – is coming and Hawaiian Airlines is working with the Walt Disney studios to bring out three Airbus A330 aircraft with special livery.

The design of the first plane has been revealed and it features the characters from the movie. The next two liveries will be revealed next month.

All planes will fly on Hawaiian’s U.S. domestic routes and international destinations through March of 2017 and you can track where they’ll be here.

hawaiian-moana-caption

As part of the collaboration Hawaiian Airlines will feature a “Moana” caption-contest , with a grand prize of a trip for two to Los Angeles to attend the Hollywood Premiere of Moana.

Other movie-themed collaboration efforts include videos, Moana-themed amenities including luggage bins and  inflight entertainment, as well as limited-edition products such as blankets, towels, and apparel.

They’ll also be a line of items  you can buy – so if you’re taking your kids on a Hawaiian Airlines flight, bring your credit card…

Virgin America celebrate SF Giants

Virgin America Plane Decal Mockup Sergio_edited

Mockup, courtesy Virgin America

If, like Virgin America, you’re a fan of the SF Giants, then keep an eye on the sky for the carrier’s Airbus A320 airplane painted with a 2016 SF Giants aircraft design.

The “Fly Bye Baby” aircraft features star pitcher Sergio Romo on the fuselage, winding up for a pitch.

The airline is celebrating its ninth birthday at San Francisco’s AT&T Park on August 20 – when the SF Giants take on the Mets – by giving the first 40,000 attendees a two-for-one Virgin America flight voucher.

 

ANA’s BB-8 Star Wars plane #3 +contest

ANA STAR WARS BB-8

Japan’s All Nippon Airways – ANA – has been thrilling Star Wars fans with its series of Star War’s liveried planes and on March 27 the third and final aircraft in the specially-decorated series of planes will start flying international routes.

The aircraft will be unveiled in a ceremony on March 27 at Osaka’s Itami Airport, where the special livery was applied, and will then make a one-off domestic flight as ANA22 from Itami to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

At just past midnight on March 29, the plane will take off as ANA Flight 106 to Los Angeles and it will then fly various international routes between Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita and Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Houston.

The Star Wars theme isn’t just on the outside of the BB-8 plane. Inside passengers will find special BB-8 paper cups and headrest covers and find cabin attendants wearing BB-8 aprons.

Want to get on board?

ANA is having a contest to give away a pair of round-trip economy class tickets from Los Angeles to Tokyo for the first outbound flight. If you don’t win the first prize, you may win one of the 50 second prizes: a special BB-8™ ANA JET model plane.

Enter the BB-8 ANA Jet Sweepstakes here.

Travel Tidbits: e-cigs, Cuba & mascots

Lucky Stirke smoking

The U.S. Department of Transportation has finalized a rule related to smoking on airplanes and now the use of electronic cigarettes on commercial flights is officially forbidden.

According to DOT: “The final rule applies to all scheduled flights of U.S. and foreign carriers involving transportation in, to, and from the U.S.”

havana

Many U.S. airlines – including Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United – filed applications this week for regularly scheduled flights to Havana and other airports in Cuba. 110 daily flights will be approved, so stay tuned and start planning your trip now.

Frontier mascot

And, Frontier Airlines is running a contest to pick a school mascot to be featured on one of its new Airbus 320 airplanes.

The winning mascot’s organization will win 20 roundtrip tickets and every time you vote you get entered in a contest to win a free flight.

Batman v. Superman – the airplane

Turkish Airlines - Batman v Superman Special Livery 2

The action adventure film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens worldwide on March 25, 2016 and evidently there’s a scene that takes place on a 777 Turkish Airlines plane.

Off-screen, Turkish Airlines is celebrating the movie with specially-painted Batman v. Superman plane, limited edition movie-themed in-flight amenity kits for adults and children and movie-themed in-flight menu items, including branded cookies and cupcakes.

Turkish Airlines - Batman v Superman Special Livery

You’ll have to wait until February 8th for the on-line part of the promotion, which will include an opportunity to enter a contest to attend of one the world premieres.

(Photos courtesy Turkish Airlines)

WestJet’s Frozen-themed airplane

Frozen Plane Face

A few days ago WestJet and several partners unveiled a new Disney-themed aircraft featuring Anna, Elsa and Olaf from Frozen, the highest-grossing animated film of all time.

There are also Frozen images inside the airplane, including on the overhead bins, bulkheads, lavatory mirrors and headrests.

Here are some of the fun facts WestJet shared about the Disney Frozen-themed plane:

*The aircraft was painted in Fort Worth, Texas.
*The paint team included team members from Canada, the United States and Germany. They watched Frozen to get them into the spirit before work began.
*The job took 21 days of 12-hour rotations involving a constant crew of six painters working 24/7.
*Sparkles were added to the paint in sections to add shimmer and shine as the aircraft moves.
*An airbrush artist was brought in to work on details around the sun, water and castle.
*The inside of the aircraft has decals and headrest covers that mimic the cold-to-warm (back-to-front) theme on the outside of the aircraft.
* There are 54 separate overhead bin doors on the aircraft and each has a unique Frozen decal.

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(photos courtesy WestJet)

Sneak peek at ANA’s Star Wars plane

Courtesy Boeing

With R2-D2, C-3PO and the Star Wars Stormtroopers on hand, on Saturday Boeing and Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) showed off the carrier’s R2-D2-themed jet at the Boeing Everett Factory north of Seattle.

Courtesy Boeing

Courtesy Boeing.

courtesy Boeing

Courtesy Boeing

The cool design features aren’t just on the outside. Inside the plane there will be Star Wars-themed service items as well, including paper cups and headrest covers.

ANA Star Wars paper cup

ANA Headrest cover