American Airlines to retain new ‘flag’ tail design
Almasalla Arab Travel Portal News – American Airlines red, white and blue flag-like tail design, revealed when the company unveiled a new livery last January, will remain, CEO Doug Parker said.
Parker, formerly the CEO of US Airways, became the CEO of the combined American Airlines/US Airways last month when the carriers closed their merger. One of his first acts was to put up for an employee vote whether the carrier, called “American Airlines,” would keep the new “flag” tails or revert to the iconic “AA” tails utilized for the last 40 years. Parker said in a message to employees that, based on the voting, the new tails will remain and be added to all US Airways aircraft during repainting and the many remaining American aircraft that have not yet been repainted.
About 60,000 of American’s 100,000 employees participated in the vote, with more than 31,000 voting for the new flag tails. Parker had told employees he was “indifferent” to the vote’s outcome but wanted the will of American’s workers represented.
“For those of you who really wanted to bring back the AA, know that it will still be with us,” Parker wrote to American employees after the vote. “First, it will take us many months to paint the 580 US Airways aircraft and those aircraft will be the priority, which means the remaining classic Silverbirds [with American’s old livery] will still be flying for some time.”
Parker added that “even after all of the fleet has been painted,” American plans to retain “heritage aircraft in our fleet going forward, so the AA livery will remain in our system.”
Parker said deciding on the look of American’s aircraft “was a small but important step in bringing us together and beginning to move forward” on the integration of American and US Airways.
