Southwest Airlines has just revealed a new special livery, which will surely turn heads at airports…
In this post:
Southwest’s red, white, and blue Boeing 737, with “1776” tail number
Southwest Airlines is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding, with the introduction of Independence One, a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 in a special livery. Southwest points out how it carries more travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline.
Side note — I love how airlines carve out these narrow claims. Soon we’ll hear Spirit promoting how it carriers more travelers nonstop in the United States than any other airline that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in the past two years.
So, what makes this plane special? It has several unique design elements, intended to commemorate the nation:
- It has a red, white, and blue paint scheme, with “1776” written in giant quill script
- “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (from the Declaration of Independence) is written on the side of the plane
- It has 13 stars on the fuselage, denoting the 13 original colonies
- The plane has has a circle of stars on each engine cowling, reflecting the original Betsy Ross flag
- The aircraft’s registration code is N1776R, with the “1776” of course having meaning (you can track the plane here)
- The plane has an “America250” decal on the nose and winglets
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attended the unveiling ceremony of the new plane. Southwest also announced its partnership with America250, the organization tasked with celebrating this milestone.
This is Southwest’s third patriotic Boeing 737 livery
You may be thinking “wait a second, doesn’t Southwest already have planes with patriotic liveries?” Well, you’d be correct. The new special Independence One aircraft joins two additional America-themed planes — Freedom One, which has been in the fleet since 2021, and Liberty One, a second newly introduced aircraft painted in an American flag theme.
Here’s what Southwest CEO Bob Jordan had to say about this trio of aircraft:
“With our new Independence One and Liberty One aircraft, we honor this important milestone in our nation’s history, and the generations of Customers that Southwest has carried. They join our Freedom One aircraft in uniting families, bringing service members home, flying entrepreneurs chasing an opportunity, and helping communities stay connected. Southwest is proud to be a part of the 250th national celebration and to honor the same spirit of innovation, resilience, and optimism that has shaped our country and our Company.”
Bottom line
Southwest Airlines is getting even more patriotic than ever before, and now has three planes in United States themed liveries. The newest of these is Independence One, a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 in a red, white, and blue paint scheme. The plane has all kinds of other features commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States, and it’ll certainly stand out at airports.
What do you make of Southwest’s Independence One?
A bit over the top, but still looking very solid. Happy 250!
Weird for Southwest to be doing this instead of one of the bigger carriers, but I guess what's more American than having a strong history of loyalty, but then flushing it down the toilet to make an extra buck?
Um. A little much rootin-tootin Texas for my taste. Each to their own
That ass must have one helluva taste that everyone is salivating to lick it.
The best Southwest livery was the orca killer whale , which evoked the streamlines of both the orca and the aircraft . Brilliant and fun .
Someone like @Bruce knows nothing of the world and what many parts of the world are like. Maybe go to Thailand where prostitutes (very under aged men and women) come up to you on the streets at night desperate for "work."
If you know nothing maybe not add to the conversation.
Kudos to Southwest for doing this. This country has been very good to that airline.
Woah, even for you, that's quite the red-herring you got there...
lmao right, that escalated quickly
Someone forgot to tell America that there is freedom in other countries and that America has the highest actual number, and percentage of its population in prison (therefore not free) of any country in the world. The mythology of American exceptionalism and its pride in a fake country on land stolen from genocided indigenous people is really an illness.
We're well-aware that the ideals of the United States of America are still worthy, though, yes, we've failed, many times, to uphold them. Instead of giving up, let's keep striving for better. Our next major elections are in about 189 days.
Translation: We want their slots and gates, but not their Airbus, workers, or anything else.
(Referring to Gary's recent post about Southwest buying Spirit...)