Summary
- US Airways underwent several name changes from its origin as All American Aviation in 1937 to its rebranding as US Airways in 1997.
- The evolution of US Airways liveries included patriotic American colors and Star Alliance branding.
- US Airways ceased to exist as an independent brand in 2015 after merging with American Airlines, resulting in the end of its distinctive liveries.
US Airways was a major airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. As with any long-lasting airline, its branding and liveries changed over time. One somewhat consistent theme of US Airway’s liveries was patriotism, with liveries often displaying the US flag or the red, white, and blue colors of the flag. Here are some of the US Airlines liveries and the background to those liveries.
Brief Timeline of US Airways
Like its liveries, US Airways changed its name repeatedly over the years. As with almost all major companies, US Airways was more of a group of merging companies over time than a single entity. It was founded in 1937 as a Pittsburgh mail delivery airline called All American Aviation. It soon became a passenger airline, and in 1953, it rebranded as Allegheny Airlines. Following the US deregulation of the industry in 1979, it changed its name to USAir.
Photo: Ivan Cholakov l Shutterstock
During the 1980s, USAir merged with or acquired Piedmont Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines. By 1997, it restyled its name as US Airways and was regarded as one of America’s transcontinental legacy carriers. Since then, more and more legacy carriers have disappeared or merged into other brands (including TWA, America West Airlines, Aloha Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and Continental Airlines).
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Year: |
Major US Airways event: |
|---|---|
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1937: |
Founded as mail airline |
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1953: |
Rebranded Allegheny Airlines |
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1979: |
Deregulation and rebranded USAir |
|
1980s: |
Acquisition of Piedmont Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines |
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1997: |
Rebanded US Airways |
|
2005: |
Bought out by American West Airlines |
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2013: |
Acquired American Airlines |
|
2015: |
US Airways brand finally ended |
Bankrupt, US Airways was bought out by American West Airlines in 2005, with the latter adopting the name of the larger US Airways. Almost a decade later, in 2013, US Airways bought American Airlines, creating the largest airline in the world, while adopting American Airlines’ name and headquarters.
In 2015, the FAA granted a single operating certificate for both carriers, marking the end of US Airways as an independent carrier. The US Airways brand ceased to exist in October 2015. US Airways aircraft were repainted with American Airlines schemes and new flight attendant uniforms were introduced in 2016.
USAir liveries
As USA Today points out, US Airways had many aircraft liveries throughout its operation, including under its US Airways and USAir names. Its Express and Shuttle divisions’ liveries mirrored the current company-wide livery. Many of the liveries extended the full length of the aircraft. At times, a large red band was painted down the center of the aircraft, while at other times, the entire upper half of the aircraft was painted.
In 1979, USAir’s new livery was mostly an unpainted aircraft with an orange, red, and brown running strip along with the stylized USAir title. The letter “A” was written as a triangle. The airline introduced many variations of this livery on a white fuselage. Some other designs were experimented with, but none were widely adopted.
USAir liveries changed around the time of Piedmont Airlines’ acquisition. During this time, USAir changed its colors to more patriotic American colors—red, white, and blue. The fuselage remained largely unpainted, but a narrower blue line topped the thick red line.
The USAir logo became more standard and displayed in serif font. Aircraft tails became more American, being painted blue with three red stripes.
US Airways liveries
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock
Another period of change came in 1997, as the airline rebranded as US Airways. The aircraft’s upper half (and tail) was painted in a very dark blue, with the lower half being light gray. Separating the two hemispheres was a white and red cheatline. The US Airways title remained stylized in a white serif font (alongside a stylized US flag logo).
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US Airways final fleet: |
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|---|---|
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Airbus A319-100 |
Airbus A320-200 |
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Airbus A321-200 |
Airbus A330-200 |
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Airbus A330-300 |
Boeing 737-400 |
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Boeing 757-200 |
Boeing 767-200ER |
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Embraer 190 |
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Some aircraft received Star Alliance liveries, with the Star Alliance logo on the tail and the title ‘Star Alliance’ painted boldly on the aircraft. After US Airways left Star Alliance, these aircraft were changed to the new American Airlines livery.
Photo: Markus Mainka l Shutterstock
The final livery came after the merger with American West Airlines in 2005. As American West Airlines’ hubs in Phoenix and Las Vegas experienced strong summer heat, an off-white livery was adopted to suit the climate better. While the new livery drew from US Airways’ existing scheme, it did include curving gray stripes on the rear fuselage as a nod to the previous American West scheme.
Baring an occasional American Airlines painted as a throwback to US Airways, the former airline’s liveries are no longer used. US Airways was one of the major US legacy carriers that eventually merged out of existence as an independent brand. Much of American Airlines’ aging fleet of inherited US Airways aircraft (including the Embraer 190s, Boeing 757-200s, Airbus A330-300s, and Airbus A330-200) was retired in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.