airline liveries

Travel tidbits from airlines, airports & the U.S. governnment shutdown

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U.S. government shutdown is affecting air travel. Already.

The U.S. government shutdown is beginning to take a toll on air travel.

TSA workers, air traffic controllers and others – already working longer hours due to staffing shortages – are now working without paychecks and the fallout is clear.

Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there’s been a slight increase in the number of sick calls from TSA workers and air traffic controllers since the shutdown began.

And that may be the reason Hollywood Burbank Airport had no air traffic controllers scheduled to work Monday evening. And why several East Coast airports had issues with air traffic control staffing.

Take a look at the FAA’s National Airspace System Status chart. You’ll notice under that the cause for many of the delays is currently listed as “staffing.”

If the shutdown continues, this list will grow.

Help for airport workers on the job without pay

The 2019 government shutdown lasted 35 days, during which time employees of TSA, the FAA and Customs and Border Protection (among others) had to work without pay.

During that time, airports and airlines and community groups set up food pantries and free meals for those unpaid workers.

It’s happening again.

During the shutdown, the Allegheny County Authority (ACAA), the operator of Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is providing free meals to working U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees.

The first meals were provided at both Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Allegheny County Airport (AGC) on Friday, Oct. 3. The plan is to provide meals twice a week for the duration of the shutdown.

According to PIT officials, airport concessions partners are contributing by helping to prepare the meals at a discounted rate. Participants include Air Ventures, Beer Code, Bruegger’s Bagels, Chick-fil-A, Jimmy John’s, Local Craft, Shake Shack, and Wellington, with more to come.

Currently, the meals will be distributed across all shifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays at PIT and AGC.

And at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), TSA workers are getting support.

If the shutdown continues, starting October 11, 2025, TSA workers will be offered several benefits, including complimentary parking during their shifts; two meal vouchers per shift (one voucher per shift for part-time workers); and discounts or special meals from ATL concessionaries.

Any other airports doing this? Let us know.

JetBlue’s new special celebrating Puerto Rico

One of JetBlue‘s Airbus A320s now bears a special livery, Isla del Bluencanto, designed by Puerto Rican artist Juan Gutiérrez Rovira, also known as The Stencil Network. 

The design was chosen by a public vote and celebrates Puerto Rico’s rich culture and spirit and showcases iconic symbols of Puerto Rican heritage.

Look for the jibaro figure on the tail; fruits and flora of the island, on the body of the aircraft; and the phrase “Somos Boruca” – We are Puerto Rico – on the plane’s underbelly,

Air New Zealand’s Prime Day deals

Amazon’s October Prime Days include some travel deals, including some great fares to New Zealand with Air New Zealand’s Prime Day fares.

From October 7 to 9, the airline is offering round-trip flights to Auckland for as low as $825 in the economy cabin. There are tempting fares in Premium Economy and Business Premier as well, and with departures from major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York and more.

Airline liveries come and go

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Icelandair is retiring two lovely liveries

Icelandair is retiring its Boeing 757 aircraft and refreshing and expanding its fleet with Airbus A321LRs.

That means two aircraft with much-loved liveries will no longer fly.

Vatnajokull (2017), the carrier’s ode to the largest glacier in Europe, was introduced in 2018 and retired last week.

We had the good fortune of flying on the plane in May 2017, before it went into full service, on a one-hour flight between Keflavik Airport near Reykjavik and Egilsstaðir Airport, with a route that went right over the glacier the plane is named after.

Now that the plane and that livery have been retired.

Here is Icelandair’s video about the creation of the livery.

Icelandair’s aurora borealis livery is going bye-bye too

Hekla Aurora, Icelandair’s northern lights plane, debuted in 2015, with interior aurora borealis mood lighting and an aurora borealis livery.

The plane’s last flight is scheduled for Sunday, October 12, and the airline has scheduled a special 1 and a half hour farewell flight from Keflavík Airport. Details here.

Looking forward to Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary livery

While Icelandair is retiring two cool liveries, Lufthansa is getting ready to unveil a new livery in honor of its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Starting in December, a new Boeing 787-9 will go into service with a special livery featuring a blue fuselage, the carrier’s trademark white crane hovering above it, and the bird’s wings merging into the wings of the aircraft.

In addition to the crane, the numerals “100” will be visible on the left side of the fuselage and the lettering “1926 / 2026” on the right side.

There will also be a 100” logo painted on the underside of the aircraft.

Get rewarded for dressing like your Condor plane

Airlines,

We’re big fans of Condor Airlines’ colorfully striped livery which is inspired by the colors and accoutrements of summer, such as beach towels, ice cream parlors and parosols, according to the carrier.

Now Condor is celebrating the third anniversary of the introduction of its striped livery with a special “Match The Stripes” contest.

Condor unveiled its striped livery on April 4, 2022 and this year, from April 4 to April 30, the airline will be gifting €10 vouchers (about $10.78) to the first 1000 passengers who dress in a striped color shirt, dress or jacket that matches the stripes on their airplane.

The voucher can be used immediately on board the airplane towards the purchase of a drink or snack.

But how will you know know what color stripes will be on you aircrat?

Easy. Condor will tell you.

  1. Two days before a flight, you can search online here to find out which aircraft you will be flying.
  2. Once you know what aircraft you’re flying, you can see what colored stripes it has here.
  3. And once you know what color stripes will be on your plane, you can choose a striped, color-coordinated shirt or dress to wear on the plane.

There are some rules and restrictions, of course, but ‘winners’ will also receive a voucher code to use with the My Postcard app to create a photo postcard of their matchy-match look.

We’re entering Condor Airlines’ dress-like-the-plane promotion in the contest for Airline Amenity of the Week!

WestJet’s Disney planes retiring. But stand by for a new Hello Kitty livery from Eva Air

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West Jet will retire the Walt Disney “Frozen” and “Magic Plane” liveries

This week we’ve been poking around for cool airplane liveries and learned from Calgary-based WestJet that the carrier is getting ready to retire the Walt Disney World Resort livery on the popular “Frozen”-themed plane and on the “Magic Plane” that features Sorcerer Mickey on the tail.

According to a WestJet spokesperon, “later this year,” the airline will be repainting these planes to match the existing WestJet fleet.

Good news for Hello Kitty livery fans

If you’re a Hello Kitty fan, there’s some good news.

Tawain-based Eva Air, which currently operates four Hello Kitty-themed jets – Travel Fun, Celebration Flight, Joyful Dream and Shining Star – says it is “working hard to create designs for our next generation Hello Kitty Jets” and will share news about those new special liveries when they’re ready to go.

In the meantime, the carrier says it’s using the four current Hello Kitty jets on flights to Clark (in the Philippines), Bali and Sapporo but not on specific schedules. 

“We are using them just as we operate other aircraft in our fleet. A passenger on one of these routes could end up on an EVA Hello Kitty Jet or on another aircraft.”

 

Plane paradise for Pokémon Fans

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More Pokeman characters are taking to the skies thanks to the Pokémon Company’s “Pokémon Air Adventures” partnership with a variety of airlines to decorate planes with  Pokémon characters – inside and out.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) launched a Pikachu Jet NH on June 4, 2023 and will be launching a second Pokémon themed plane, the Eevee Jet NH, on August 31.

ANA’s Pikachu Jet flies mainly in Asia, to and from Tokyo. The Eevee Jet, a specially painted Boeing 777-300ER, will operate for 5 years and fly between Tokyo Haneda and the US (New York and San Francisco) and between Haneda and London from August 31, 2023 through October 28, 2023. After that, the plane will likely be used on other routes.

Here are some images of the Pikachu jet, along with a ‘behind-the-scenes’ video of it being painted.

And here are some images of the Eevee Jet NH, plus the themed headrests inside the plane.

ANA isn’t the only airline participating in Pokémon Air Adventures. China Airlines, Scoot and several others have special Pikachu planes too.

This and that from an airport near you

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Some people scroll through TikTok dances at the end of the day.

We click through the airport and airline news on Twitter.

Here are some items we stopped to read Tuesday evening.

Leave the fireworks at home

July 4th is going to be a busy time at airports and long security lines might make tempers flare. Don’t make it worse by bringing fireworks (even sparklers) in your carry-on bag.

Southwest Airline’s Freedom One

This plane with a patriotic livery is making the rounds. Be sure to watch how they made the paint scheme happen.

SFO adding some new gates and amenities

SFO keeps moving forward. We’re can’t wait to visit the new museum gallery.

United Airlines going all-in with new aircraft

We’re all for new planes, bigger overhead bins, seatback entertainment, and the promise of being able to connect wireless headphones with Bluetooth technology. 

Get “espresso boarding” on Alaska Airlines this weekend

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Alaska Airlines snowflake plane + Starbucks cup promotion

Alaska Airlines has put a snowflake-adorned plane in the air that will keep flying throughout the ski season.

And, through Sunday, November 10, the Seattle-based airline is also partnering with Starbucks for a “red cup = early boarding” treat.

Show up for your Alaska Airlines flight with a Starbucks drink served in a red holiday cup and you’ll be invited to board the plane in the “espresso lane,” following group B.

Some airport Starbucks, including San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) are piloting compostable cups. But those airport Starbucks will be serving drinks with a red holiday sleeve and those drinks will qualify for “espresso lane” boarding as well.

And, as a bonus, on some West Coast flights, passengers will be gifted a complimentary reusable Starbucks holiday cup and $5 Starbucks gift card.  

United Airlines’ new livery

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United Airlines is having a reveal event in Chicago today to show the world the carrier’s new livery.

But, thanks to the magic of Twitter, we’re all getting a pretty good look at the design right here.

More images will start appearing online later today, but take a look at the short videos and images United has shared already.

As United says, a key difference is that the new design ditches the gold, in favor of United blue.

What do you think of the new design?

ANA’s 1st A380 looks like a turtle

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All Nippon Airways (ANA) is celebrating the rollout of its first Airbus A380 from the Airbus Paintshop in Hamburg, Germany.  And the plane is pretty darn cute. 

The new plane sports a paint job featuring the Hawaiian green sea turtle, known as “Honu.” The turtle not only makes a cute livery, it has special meaning: in the Hawaiian language, the sea turtle symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

ANA is scheduled to receive this new A380 jet, nicknamed FLYING HONU, in March 2019. The plane’s inaugural flight is scheduled to leave from Tokyo Narita Airport and travel to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on May 24, 2019.

ANA is set to get three Airbus A380s and each will feature livery in different colors and with different designs.

The blue livery of the Flying Honu, the first aircraft, links ANA’s corporate color scheme with Hawaii’s blue skies.

The second aircraft is expected to begin operating in July 2019 and it will have emerald green livery inspired by the  waters of Hawaii. 

The third A380 will be orange, in reference to the beautiful Hawaiian sunset.

“The Airbus A380 will be an important addition to ANA’s current fleet and it will allow passengers to reach the scenic islands of Hawaii in comfort and style,” said Yutaka Ito, ANA’s Executive Vice President. “The customized livery adds a personal touch that will make the trip that much more memorable,” he added.