The 10 Worst Special Airline Liveries Of All Time
Avgeekery.com is an aviation news site where content is written and edited by its team of professional pilots and aviation geeks. Occasionally we syndicate content from the site if we think it will interest TPG readers. This article originally appeared on Avgeekery.com under the headline, The 10 Worst Special Airline Liveries Of All Time and was written by Holly Riddle, an Avgeekery contributor.
Airlines love to unveil special liveries to promote everything from tourism to cartoon characters. Unfortunately, some of these um... unique designs are a little hard on the eyes. Check out these 10, that may just be more cringe-worthy than the rest.
10. Swiss' New CS300
Swiss outfitted its brand-new Bombardier Series CS300 in a special livery intended to celebrate Swiss Romandy (aka, western Switzerland). But really it just leaves us scratching our heads and asking why would you ruin a beautiful brand new CS300 with such a horrible paint scheme? The livery will stick around for a year, but some are already wishing it would go away sooner.
9. ANA's Pokémon Plane
Asian airlines offer some great luxury services, but they do come up with some particularly bad liveries. Take, for example, the All Nippon Airways Pokémon planes. This is one trend they've really worn out, with nine different Pokémon jets since 1998. The livery belongs in a day care, not an international airport.
8. Southwest's Shamu Livery
Southwest's very first non-tactful livery debuted in 1988, as a giant killer whale, thanks to a partnership with Sea World of Texas. The airline would go on to introduce the Shamu Two and Shamu Three, with eventually five Shamu aircraft. After watching the movie Blackfish, it's always a little awkward to see this livery. Fortunately, for the animal lovers on the site, the airline severed ties with Sea World and ditched the livery in 2014.
7. Singapore Airlines' Megatop 747
This Singapore Airlines Megatop 747 was involved in the first fatal crash for the airline, with 83 deaths after the crew took off on a closed runway during a typhoon. The paint scheme wasn't very attractive and the carrier hasn't painted an aircraft in a special scheme since.
6. Continental's Peter Max 777
Continental Airlines commissioned artist Peter Max to decorate the "$160 million living canvas." The result? A bright red, pink and yellow super jet declared the NYC Millennium plane, and a downright crime in color. The plane proved pretty popular though. So popular in fact that #AvGeeks created threads on forums to track where Peter Max was headed and posted photos.
5. EVA Air's Hello Kitty Jet
Just like All Nippon Airways, EVA Air has a thing for cartoons. Instead of Pokémon gracing the fuselage, they have Hello Kitty, not only adorning the entire livery, but also the interior as well. There are currently six different Sanrio-themed aircraft in the airline's fleet. The intro video is torture too. Gag me!
4. Hainan Airlines' Kung-Fu Panda Boeing 787-9
Hainan Airlines isn't missing out on the cartoon livery party either, unveiling its third Kung-Fu Panda-themed plane in May. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are difficult to miss, with bright colors and a chubby bear on each one.
3. Air New Zealand's Boeing 777
We all know New Zealand is home to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but that doesn't mean the country's airline needs to take the faces of what looks like the entire main cast around the world with them.
2. Austrian Airlines
Another airline that dabbled in painting portraits of people on its fuselage was Austrian Airlines, but they didn't stick to a movie cast. Instead, they went for many of the country's "famous" past and present residents, with a huge Mozart head on the tail. It's not the worst paint scheme ever... maybe just the second worst!
1. Southwest's Sports Illustrated Livery
Southwest took some heat for this livery, featuring a scantily-clad Sports Illustrated model on the fuselage of a Boeing 737, as part of a promo deal with the magazine. Passengers complained women wouldn't appreciate their husbands seeing the imagery, saying the move was "trashy." The livery didn't last long. Don Draper, Southwest's advertising executive at the time, was removed from the account.
Do you have other terrible liveries that you love to hate? Sound off, below.
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.