Austrian Airlines Joins the Retro-Colors Craze With New 80s' Livery
Just days after British Airways made waves by flying a Boeing 747 sporting the 1960s-vintage livery of its predecessor BOAC, another airline revealed an airplane painted to resemble the jets of days gone by.
Austrian Airlines has unveiled its vintage-style Airbus A320, painted in the company's 1980s colors, which joins the ranks of other airplanes crossing European and American skies today but looking like they're out of a documentary from decades ago. "It was the age of Ronald Reagan, Perestroika and MTV," Austrian Airlines said in a statement, referencing the '80s and mentioning "the good old days" — seemingly proving that the retro-airplane trend is about nostalgia as much as marketing.
The Airbus A320 spent nine days in a hangar in Bratislava, Slovakia, getting decked out in its retro red and white livery. The complete exterior paint of the jet weighs in at about 120 kilograms (264 lbs) and consists of three layers. The vintage-style A320 arrived at Vienna Airport (VIE) on Sunday night, and began regular service connecting Vienna with other European cities the next day.
While also being a nod to the past, Austrian said in a statement the aircraft livery is a homage to Tokyo and New York City, two important cities for the airline. Austrian's first real long-haul widebody airplanes, two Airbus A310s delivered in the 1980s, were named Tokyo and New York. While service to both cities has experienced some brief interruptions in the past, this year will mark Austrian's 30th year of service to Tokyo and its 50th year to New York.
Avgeeks — if you want to follow where the Austrian aircraft, which has the Austrian registration OE-LBO, is headed next, you can follow its journeys here. It won't be seen in American skies as it is a short-haul jet. Austrian flies Boeing 767s and 777s to North America, and since it's a member of Star Alliance, you can earn and redeem United Airlines miles on its flights.
