For Pride month we’ve just about all major airlines in the United States update their logos on social media to add a rainbow. Well, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is taking it to the next level.
In this post:
Alaska Airlines’ “Fly With Pride” Airbus A320
Alaska Airlines has today unveiled a special livery for an Airbus A320. Specifically, the plane has “FLY WITH PRIDE” written along the side of the plane, with several smaller planes in rainbow colors painted on the fuselage. The engines even have a rainbow pattern on them, which is pretty awesome.
As Alaska Airlines describes this special livery aircraft:
We are longtime supporters of the LGBTQ+ community, and we’re proud to share our newest special aircraft, which was inspired by leaders of Alaska’s LGBTQ+ employee group to encourage conversations around belonging, equity and equality.
The design features airplane decals with iconic rainbow stripes & inclusive colors such as brown, black, light blue, white & pink to represent BIPOC & Transgender communities. Without those groups of people & their activism, we would not have Pride today.
The plane to get this special livery is a nine-year-old A320 with the registration N854VA. It looks like this updated paint scheme was completed pretty quickly — the plane operated a full schedule on June 12, then was the hangar in Seattle for two days, and today the plane reentered service. Today the plane is flying from Seattle to Portland to San Francisco to San Diego to Seattle.
While the plane’s schedule isn’t published in advance, you can always check the plane’s flight tracking page day-of to see where it’s flying.
Other airlines with Pride-themed planes
I might be missing something, but to my knowledge Alaska is the first major airline in the United States to have a special Pride livery. Now, JetBlue did name a plane “Shantay Blue Stay” in honor of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but I wouldn’t exactly call that a special livery.
However, we have seen some unique liveries outside of the USA.
Back in 2016, now defunct WOW Air gave an Airbus A330-300 the registration code TF-GAY. WOW Air gave all of its planes registrations that were intended to make the airline feel like “family,” and that included TF-MOM, TF-DAD, TF-SIS, TF-BRO, TF-SON, and TF-KID.
When the airline started flying to San Francisco and took delivery of a new A330, a gay pilot suggested the “GAY” registration code for a new plane, and management was immediately onboard with the concept.
Meanwhile back in 2017, Qantas painted its name on an A330 in rainbow colors. This came at a time when the airline was the official airline partner of Sydney Mardi Gras.
I’m sure there are some other planes I’m missing, but those are two noticeable ones that come to mind.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines has painted an A320 in a special Pride livery, which sure is cool to see. Alaska Airlines isn’t the first airline with a Pride-themed livery, but it is the only airline in the United States to currently have one, as far as I know.
Well done, Alaska!
Does Alaska have a plane honoring Black people?
I am a gay man living in San Francisco, and am thrilled that Alaska Airlines, my absolute most favorite and fabulous airline, has been a long time supporter of gay rights.
Happy Pride month. I just wanna fly. I’m here for the miles , points , and flying first class. Paint a plane however you want.
People who are so negative about this forget that it takes more energy to hate than to love.
I don't feel sorry for those people who choose to spend their time making other feel like crap and less than.
The world is already way too complicated. We don't need more hate.
Who cares if Alaska is trying to get buzz from painting a pride plane? Unless they aren't actually supporting LGBTQIA+ causes or if...
People who are so negative about this forget that it takes more energy to hate than to love.
I don't feel sorry for those people who choose to spend their time making other feel like crap and less than.
The world is already way too complicated. We don't need more hate.
Who cares if Alaska is trying to get buzz from painting a pride plane? Unless they aren't actually supporting LGBTQIA+ causes or if they're discriminatory against LGBTQIA+ passengers and employees and therefore contradicting this marketing statement, who the hell cares?
Love is love, however you express it. Enough already with the negativity.
What I don't understand is why combine BIPOC with LGBTQ+ (and this trend seems to be picking up).
Don't crash their party. They are different, honoring completely different things and events.
I'm not sure how BIPOC will feel if LGBTQ+ joins Black History Month.
I can say for sure every BIPOC I know, doesn't need to have "pride" in "coming out" as a BIPOC.
Ever see or hear someone "coming out" as Black...
What I don't understand is why combine BIPOC with LGBTQ+ (and this trend seems to be picking up).
Don't crash their party. They are different, honoring completely different things and events.
I'm not sure how BIPOC will feel if LGBTQ+ joins Black History Month.
I can say for sure every BIPOC I know, doesn't need to have "pride" in "coming out" as a BIPOC.
Ever see or hear someone "coming out" as Black or Asian or Native?
I don't remember the history about Stonewall uprising (reason for June), that police targets black people but not LGBTQ+.
Now if this was MLK day, I completely agree that these 2 groups and other civil rights should be represented. And yes I support both group, but Pride month isn't about BIPOC. It's about LGBTQ+.
By the way, Alaska did a bad job to show support. They painted them really half-hearted. I would have change the whole tail section color stripes into rainbows.
The art and the sentiment are perfect! Very well done!
Those are some colorful airplanes! I like.
Are there any aircraft paintings that advertise the classic family with dad, mom and children?
Ugh. How tiresome.
Adam's response shows why there is a need for Pride month/parades/planes/etc. His comment suggests that my family (and Ben's family as well for that matter) aren't "real" family like what he considers a classic family to be. Shame
Absolutely spot on. Adam must also understand (and clearly does not) that nothing is being taken away from Adam's illustration of family. The comment is offensive and exemplifies why pride is important, matters, and is relevant.
I like it!
I do get the point @shane and @Tortuga make about corporate pride, but I think an airline coming out and making a symbolic statement can be a good FIRST step. It certainly should not be the only step. I like that they are also partnering with some west coast Pride events. @shoeguy makes an interesting point about the uniforms. That sounds like that can be an area for growth and evolution for...
I like it!
I do get the point @shane and @Tortuga make about corporate pride, but I think an airline coming out and making a symbolic statement can be a good FIRST step. It certainly should not be the only step. I like that they are also partnering with some west coast Pride events. @shoeguy makes an interesting point about the uniforms. That sounds like that can be an area for growth and evolution for Alaska Airlines. I appreciate employers who can take feedback from employees, so hopefully Alaska will listen and learn.
I appreciate the work that is being done by people like Rep. Pramila Jayapal to call out companies that make pro-Pride statements, but then turn around and give cash to politicians or groups which oppose equal rights for LGBTQ people. According to this article in "Rolling Stone," American Airlines is one of those companies.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/companies-tout-gay-rights-during-pride-give-to-anti-lgbt-politicians-1181006/
In terms of whether "everything" is gay now, if you look around, I think you will notice that quite a few things are hetero. We are CONSTANTLY bombarded with heterosexual couples in movies, heterosexual couples in advertisements, heterosexual pop songs. Diversity in representation is a good thing, and potentially important. Rates of suicide are higher among LGBTQ+ youth. Not everyone comes from a family or a community where their identity is accepted. While this plane isn't the be-all and end-all, it is a nice gesture.
Just more pandering. July 1st all the flags come off and we're off to the next marketing plan....
Earlier this month, a group representing non binary employees have called attention to the fact that Alaska Airlines' uniform policy is discriminatory. This is pinkwashing.
That’s being grateful for not having been fired/furloughed at times when airlines were doing awesome
I see that everyday as a private employer: gratitude for having a job, enthusiasm and the sheer pride and joy of working
Love the livery and design. Proud to be 75k on Alaska!
Perfect timing because the A320ceo will be retired by the end of pride month
This isn’t painted. It’s all decals. None of the standard AS livery has been changed. In fact it looks deliberate to avoid touching the standard AS livery.
This will be gone in a month or so.
True commitment would have been a permanent painted livery.
I dislike the rainbow flag strictly for aesthetics. But...I do like the design of this livery with all the planes and it's cute enough. The colors and shades of the rainbow flag are horrific. Years ago Isaac Mizrahi proposed a new design with pastels. He specifically wanted it to be more ironic and include pink which it should. As a gay guy, I have zero emotional connection to that flag. And now that it includes...
I dislike the rainbow flag strictly for aesthetics. But...I do like the design of this livery with all the planes and it's cute enough. The colors and shades of the rainbow flag are horrific. Years ago Isaac Mizrahi proposed a new design with pastels. He specifically wanted it to be more ironic and include pink which it should. As a gay guy, I have zero emotional connection to that flag. And now that it includes more than just gays & lesbians it has lost any familiarity or meaning for me.
This flag encompasses all of the lgbt, including trans. Gay men actually have their own flag, look up the mlm flag. And what are you meaning by "now that it includes more than gays and lesbians, it has lost any familiarity to me"? Last time I checked trans are part of the lgbt. Which I'm hoping is your only problem considering the flag has the trans flag on it as well. (Meaning, I hope you're...
This flag encompasses all of the lgbt, including trans. Gay men actually have their own flag, look up the mlm flag. And what are you meaning by "now that it includes more than gays and lesbians, it has lost any familiarity to me"? Last time I checked trans are part of the lgbt. Which I'm hoping is your only problem considering the flag has the trans flag on it as well. (Meaning, I hope you're not discrediting bi, pan, ace, etc as well)
Anyways I think this is really cool and I'm happy that the lgbt is becoming more accepted.
I know what airline I'm not flying when I have a choice. Tired of this woke pandering.
Don't let the door hit you on your way out
Or any other airline in the us, oh and you might want to delete this gay owned website...
Disgusting. More falling in with anti-Christian political issues. How about veteran, police and fireman planes! I hope I never have to fly on this idiotic "pride" plane!!! And, yes, I am entitled to my opinion!!
Would you like to speak to the manager?
Actually there are many planes with dedicated liveries to honor special causes (breast cancer is one that comes to mind immediately). And you can find specially painted locomotives honoring veterans and law enforcement officials on many US railroads.
Thanks for sharing your opinion to which you are entitled. I'll share mine in that I hope I never have to fly on any plane with you.
You are but you should probably know this site is gay owned ...
Alaska Airlines also has several liveries honoring servicemembers:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/739-alaska-airlines-salutes
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/e175-honoring-those-who-serve
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/737-800-honoring-those-who-serve
jetBlue has several special liveries for FDNY, NYPD, and Veterans Day
https://www.jetblue.com/flying-with-us/our-planes/special-liveries
Yes, you're entitled to your opinion. Sadly it makes you look like an uneducated waste of space.
Alaska Airlines also has several liveries honoring servicemembers:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/739-alaska-airlines-salutes
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/e175-honoring-those-who-serve
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/our-aircraft/737-800-honoring-those-who-serve
jetBlue has several special liveries for FDNY, NYPD, and Veterans Day
https://www.jetblue.com/flying-with-us/our-planes/special-liveries
Yes, you're entitled to your opinion. Sadly it makes you look like an uneducated waste of space.
Thank you for vowing to never fly Alaska Airlines so I never have to sit next to your disgusting “opinion”
Good luck requesting to change your flight once this airplane shows up at your gate.
No one will let you.
Lol. "Anti-Christian"
Everyone knows that your mythical Christian God loves everyone, even us gays.
Just curious (but not like that) why does everything have to be gay now? I understand it's politically popular now so maybe that's why. I've never given a shit if someone was gay or not because it never seemed important enough for me to notice. But constantly painting everything rainbow is creating division where I really don't think there was any before. Whats next? Black Lives Matter airplane? All White People Are Horrible airplanes? If...
Just curious (but not like that) why does everything have to be gay now? I understand it's politically popular now so maybe that's why. I've never given a shit if someone was gay or not because it never seemed important enough for me to notice. But constantly painting everything rainbow is creating division where I really don't think there was any before. Whats next? Black Lives Matter airplane? All White People Are Horrible airplanes? If its really all about being equal, why so much effort to forcefully outline differences?
Because you probably did give a shit if someone was gay in the past and many, many people in this country and around the world still do. Your joke-that-isnt-a-joke (not that way!) and the fact that pride seems divisive to you tells me you’ve still got a ways to go.
“A way to go” to what?
Not a big fan of this - just more corporate pandering for the sake of good PR / marketing. Saying that as a LGBT person.
+1
+1
I really question when there’s a corporate statement saying they are “longtime supporters.” Give details. How, other than political donations which mean nothing, have you meaningfully supported this community? Without details it is a gratuitous statement. Also don’t like reference to “equity”. Equality, yes, but no one should be guaranteed equity.
If there really is such a statement it almost certainly exists because Virgin America was fairly supportive...
OTOH this aircraft is a former Virgin America A320 and was based in San Francisco for many years. Seem appropriate to have chosen it:-)
A 9 year old inherited plane, a nice gesture yes but come on put this on something new and not something that is set to be retired in 2023.
Complain, complain complain. Is there a non-LBGTQ+ paint scheme or livery? People fly an airline because their good, treat customer's good, on time and fly to where people want to fly to. You don't need to pander.