A lot has happened since American and US Airways first announced their merger in February 2013, which has made them the world’s largest airline. If you were loyal to either airline, you’re likely familiar with just about every major milestone of the merger, given that it impacted the passenger experience.
These steps included the merger of the AAdvantage and Dividend Miles programs, the two airlines getting a single operating certificate with the FAA, the two airlines getting on a single reservations system, employees of both airlines getting the same uniforms, etc.
Even wth all of this alignment, as a customer you can still quite easily tell whether you’re on a legacy American or legacy US Airways plane. Does the plane not have any power ports or Main Cabin Extra? You’re probably on a legacy US Airways plane. Are you not getting a pre-departure beverage? You’re probably on a legacy American plane. 😉
Well, as of this week, the two airlines can add one other thing to their list of completed tasks — the entire US Airways mainline fleet now features the new American livery. So you’ll no longer see planes painted like this:
But rather all legacy US Airways mainline planes should now look like this:
With N563UW’s exit from the paint shop on Tuesday, Nov. 22, American Airlines has now painted all 299 former US Airways mainline planes.
The first US Airways plane was painted in the American livery in January 2014, just one month after the merger closed.
While all 299 legacy US Airways mainline planes have been repainted, there are still plenty of planes that don’t feature American’s new livery on the legacy American side, including 737s, 757s, and MD-80s:
Some regional aircraft will still operate in the US Airways Express livery until May 2017.
More than 80 percent of American’s fleet is now operating in the new livery. In addition to the former US Airways regional jets, American still has about 100 B737s in the polished metal livery. They will be painted by the end of 2017.
A handful of B757s and MD-80s, will continue flying in the old paint scheme. These aircraft will eventually be retired.
Now, if only American could update the interiors of legacy US Airways planes as fast as they updated the exteriors. I guess American management doesn’t really subscribe to the whole “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” philosophy.
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