Aer Lingus rebrand - going for Euro white?

Comhrá

Just saw this on Facebook. Hope there's no truth in the report.

https://www.facebook.com/aircraftillustrations/photos/a.439517829833/10156749206854834/?type=3&theater

Locker10a

No surprise really

HTCOne

How to destroy a brand, step 1:

kevinandrew

I really, really hope not but the current industry obsession is to paint the tail and stick the logo at the front, Aer Lingus follows the crowd so it wouldn't surprise me if that's what we end up with. 

It would be a great shame if it does happen.

billy few mates

No way, that looks awful.
That's more like a livery for a short wet lease than a brand image...
That will never happen...

Locker10a

billy few mates wrote: »

.
That will never happen...

Lufthansa, Iberia, Qantas, Level, BA, Air France, need I go on?

nsa0bupkd3948x

When is the new livery due to be announced?

Comhrá

Harmony Many Syntax wrote: »

When is the new livery due to be announced?

In January 2019 I believe.

mr_edge_to_you

Anyone remember when the 1st 757 went into service? Just had a painted tail.

L1011

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

Anyone remember when the 1st 757 went into service? Just had a painted tail.

The rental 767s were similar. It really does not work.

An unpopular decision was reversed due to pressure from customers before (dropping a sandwich, admittedly not quite as expensive as a livery design) so if the first plane out of the paintshop is mostly white, we know what's needed.

goingnowhere

Stephen Kavanagh is a numbers man, the chicken sandwich came back and is the top seller...

Current livery is fine, some minor tweaks but the fundamental livery is fine.

kevinandrew

Lufthansa altered their new livery after the backlash they received, the opted for a lighter shade of blue and larger logo on the tail but unfortunately it made things even worse. The main issue is the design, not the size of logo or shade of blue. A complete redesign is unthinkable so Aer Lingus need to get it right first time. 


The more I think about it, the more I want the aircraft to stay almost entirely green as they are now. It works for KLM so it should work for Aer Lingus! There is no need to go down the eurowhite look, the finger would be pointed straight at IAG if that becomes the case.

Stovepipe

How about because it's cheaper? Why do you think new aircraft are supplied in white? When the average repaint of the normal EI colour scheme is about EU 60,000 a pop, plain white makes sense to the accounting brain.

regards

Mebuntu

Remember this highly original?

https://www.airliners.net/photo/Aer-Lingus-Caledonian-Airways/Lockheed-L-1011-385-1-14-TriStar-100/907348/L?qsp=eJwtjcEKwjAQRH%2Bl7NlLETz0Zn9AD/7Akgw1GJuwu6Kh9N9dg7fHm2Fmo1BWw8durYImUrCEOx2osvBTadrogfYuEp2JIUNO6/LSwSSpsXhTi9jcPI1sOIeAaoh/f5EI%2BUXQ0EcXPxkdINfOdDy5j0lr5r4B45Rp37/6STOu

Conchir

Is there any chance for a cheatline? Could look very well if done right.

tedpan

Stovepipe wrote:

How about because it's cheaper? Why do you think new aircraft are supplied in white? When the average repaint of the normal EI colour scheme is about EU 60,000 a pop, plain white makes sense to the accounting brain.

Even if they had to repaint all 50 planes at 60k a pop, that's only 3million euro. Nothing compared to annual revenues or a reason to upset the brand.

vectorvictor

Can see the marketing drivel already if eurowhite is the chosen route.

"This livery is representative of our clear direction for the future of Aer Lingus. The abundant white tones exude the simplicity of our vision for clear relationships with our valued guests. Tirelessly designed to mimic the clouds and boundaries we break through every day, this new livery perfectly illustrates the transparency on which we thrive"

sjb25

tedpan wrote: »

that's only 3million euro.

Only

3million extra profit in the back pocket rather than paint on a plane says the accountant numbers people don’t think about what looks nice to us all

Mr AIG accounting says it costs x amount to paint a BA plane it cost x amount to paint a Iberia plane now mr aer lingus you have the same budget for paint work your marketing around that

Cookiemunster

sjb25 wrote: »

Only

3million extra profit in the back pocket rather than paint on a plane says the accountant numbers people don’t think about what looks nice to us all

Mr AIG accounting says it costs x amount to paint a BA plane it cost x amount to paint a Iberia plane now mr aer lingus you have the same budget for paint work your marketing around that

They still have to put paint on the plane, even if it's white, so unless a euro white paint job is done for free they're not saving €60k a pop. And as they fleet repaint would probably be done over a number of years, it's not going to cost millions annually either.

And BA planes are half blue, so can't be that much cheaper than EI planes to paint.

HTCOne

White paint lasts longer. Other colours fade due sun bleaching, weather, temp changes etc, white paint does not.

sandbelter

The problem with going all white that they end up looking too much like Turkmenistan Airlines. Complete with green cowlings and white fuselage.

goingnowhere

And when you are painting, you are not flying, that costs.

Hotblack Desiato

vectorvictor wrote: »

Can see the marketing drivel already if eurowhite is the chosen route.

"This livery is representative of our clear direction for the future of Aer Lingus. The abundant white tones exude the simplicity of our vision for clear relationships with our valued guests. Tirelessly designed to mimic the clouds and boundaries we break through every day, this new livery perfectly illustrates the transparency on which we thrive"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaD8y-CGhMw

Stovepipe

Painting sucks up time and money so it is only done when it has to be done and painting slots are hard to get so it is normally timed to coincide with C checks, if at all possible. Even the ordinary scheme on the 320 has five colours, not to mind the hundreds of decals on top of that.

Mebuntu

One of the EI 747's was in a white livery during the 90's.

https://www.airliners.net/photo/Aer-Lingus/Boeing-747-148/128353?qsp=eJwtjcEKwjAQRH%2Bl7NmbYqG3%2BgN68AeWZGiDsQm7KxpK/92k9DYzb5hZyaXF8LNnyaCBFCxuphNlFn4rDSu9UL5JfNXEkC6GZfpo11/62tIkdiuVeDaMziEb/JHfxUMagrp9cGoH5yYhj8Ndq/VBc%2BR9BcYh0rb9AR7OMY0%3D

Hotblack Desiato

That 747 had been leased out which is why it was painted white.

lawred2

Comhra wrote: »

Just saw this on Facebook. Hope there's no truth in the report.

https://www.facebook.com/aircraftillustrations/photos/a.439517829833/10156749206854834/?type=3&theater

that's nice

and I still think it maintains the AL brand

DOCARCH

lawred2 wrote: »

that's nice....

Could be a lot worse.... :cool:

Strumms

billy few mates wrote: »

No way, that looks awful.
That's more like a livery for a short wet lease than a brand image...
That will never happen...

Looks a bit like the temp livery that was on the EI 757 a few years ago. VERY unremarkable and the only purpose surely of that or similar livery would be to save cash. Either way...forget unremarkable... It’s shît.

plodder

sandbelter wrote: »

The problem with going all white that they end up looking too much like Turkmenistan Airlines. Complete with green cowlings and white fuselage.

I guess that will become a problem when they start flying to Turkmenistan.

Hotblack Desiato

DOCARCH wrote: »

Could be a lot worse.... :cool:

I'm presuming the last bit was filmed with a model aircraft! Even a soon-to-be-scrapped 747 is worth more than a cheap movie's budget.

Surprised that EI allowed a still very recognisable EI liveried ship to be used in a disaster movie. No mention of this film on wikipedia, anyone got more details?

peter1892

Here you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nights_(1985_film)

There's a bit in there about how the scene in question was shot. But yeah, pretty recognisable as an Aer Lingus plane (weird seeing that 'fleg' on there!)

Hotblack Desiato

I found that article, saw no reference to flying in the first page and closed it! Doh!

They really went to a lot of effort for what looks like a pretty sh!t movie.

Also, it was responsible for inflicting that awful Lionel Richie song on the world.

john boye

https://youtu.be/PxIF9e0465E

I don't know if this is the official video or just a fan-made effort but there are clips of the EI 747 in it.

plodder

peter1892 wrote: »

Here you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nights_(1985_film)

There's a bit in there about how the scene in question was shot. But yeah, pretty recognisable as an Aer Lingus plane (weird seeing that 'fleg' on there!)

That's funny. You can clearly see the cockpit window of the 707 in the crash scene at the end. No CGI obviously in those days to touch up little inaccuracies like that, but pretty realistic otherwise.

irishrover99

Captain Joe on why planes are painted white

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=659vqjkwvP0

Hotblack Desiato

You get a glimpse of a JT3D for just a second...

EchoIndia

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I'm presuming the last bit was filmed with a model aircraft! Even a soon-to-be-scrapped 747 is worth more than a cheap movie's budget.

Surprised that EI allowed a still very recognisable EI liveried ship to be used in a disaster movie. No mention of this film on wikipedia, anyone got more details?

The said 747 back in service after the shooting of the movie, which I think was done at RAF Macrihanish.



EI-ASJ Boeing 747-148 by Irish251, on Flickr

kub

Just wondering, with regard to the extra weight that the average paint job puts into a plane.
When they are repainted, do they strip the existing paint off the plane first?

L1011

kub wrote: »

Just wondering, with regard to the extra weight that the average paint job puts into a plane.
When they are repainted, do they strip the existing paint off the plane first?

Depends. It would generally be done every few times at worst due to the weight building up but it takes longer. Quick livery change rollout won't give enough time for that so they just scuff the top coat and paint over it.

You would clearly prefer to have it stripped fully but it isn't always possible

Hotblack Desiato

I knew AA used to like the bare metal look, but that had to change a bit when they started buying Airbuses!

Interesting that he says they spent as much money polishing the bare metal as they would have on paint. Still had the weight saving though.

Just as well they never took up their orders on DH Comets. A few good polishes and you'd be through the skin :eek:

goingnowhere

The Dreamliner is what really killed the American livery

L1011

goingnowhere wrote: »

The Dreamliner is what really kind the American livery

Definitely - they coped with the A300 for many years with its composite tail. They originally painted the entire thing grey but later decided to polish the fuselage regardless.

billy few mates

kub wrote: »

Just wondering, with regard to the extra weight that the average paint job puts into a plane.
When they are repainted, do they strip the existing paint off the plane first?

You can just sand it and spray it if you want to save a few quid or you're in a hurry but the proper way to do it is to completely strip the aircraft back to bare metal and paint it from scratch.
It's not as massive a task as it sounds, they first wash it thoroughly then mask every inch of it that isn't to be painted, apply a chemical gel all over it then whack up the heat to about 40C. The old paint literally slides off it in sheets. They then wash it again to remove the chemical, reapply the joint sealant and carry out a bare metal inspection of the entire skint to make sure there is no corrosion or damage. You might have to do the chemical strip a few more times depending on how many layers of previous paint you find.
Once that's done it's primed and painted again, it's quite scientific, they have instruments that can measure the thickness of the applied paint to ensure its properly covered and instruments to measure the gloss or shine of the paint.
After that they have to reapply all the mandatory technical markings and instructions (hundreds in some cases) and away you go.
With the amount of commercial aircraft in operation aircraft painting has become a huge industry and there's still a huge shortage of paint facilities and some operators end up flying their aircraft halfway around the world to get them repainted.

Marcusm

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I found that article, saw no reference to flying in the first page and closed it! Doh!

They really went to a lot of effort for what looks like a pretty sh!t movie.

Also, it was responsible for inflicting that awful Lionel Richie song on the world.

Plus Phil Collins “Separate lives”. Ooh it’s so typical...

TheDriver

billy few mates wrote: »

You can just sand it and spray it if you want to save a few quid or you're in a hurry but the proper way to do it is to completely strip the aircraft back to bare metal and paint it from scratch.
It's not as massive a task as it sounds, they first wash it thoroughly then mask every inch of it that isn't to be painted, apply a chemical gel all over it then whack up the heat to about 40C. The old paint literally slides off it in sheets. They then wash it again to remove the chemical, reapply the joint sealant and carry out a bare metal inspection of the entire skint to make sure there is no corrosion or damage. You might have to do the chemical strip a few more times depending on how many layers of previous paint you find.
Once that's done it's primed and painted again, it's quite scientific, they have instruments that can measure the thickness of the applied paint to ensure its properly covered and instruments to measure the gloss or shine of the paint.
After that they have to reapply all the mandatory technical markings and instructions (hundreds in some cases) and away you go.
With the amount of commercial aircraft in operation aircraft painting has become a huge industry and there's still a huge shortage of paint facilities and some operators end up flying their aircraft halfway around the world to get them repainted.

Thanks for such a detailed post. Can I ask why they put the type/name of aircraft on the body ? Is it mandatory or show off??

billy few mates

TheDriver wrote: »

Thanks for such a detailed post. Can I ask why they put the type/name of aircraft on the body ? Is it mandatory or show off??

It's not mandatory to put the name or type of the aircraft on the fuselage. Apart from the registration markings there are a large number of mandatory markings and instructions that have to be applied. They're all detailed in chapter 11 of the AMM, things like door opening instructions, areas to cut to retrieve the CVR and DFDR, hot warnings for drain masts, danger areas for engines, RVSM critical areas etc but apart from these you can put whatever you want on there.
Even national flags are optional.

Kevski

This episode of Ultimate Airport Dubai gives an insight into repainting an Emirates A330

https://youtu.be/LllVqbhVZy0

billy few mates

Kevski wrote: »

This episode of Ultimate Airport Dubai gives an insight into repainting an Emirates A330

https://youtu.be/LllVqbhVZy0

Apologies, just noticed the link...

Kevski

billy few mates wrote: »

What channel and what time...?

It was on a while back, the YouTube link is in my previous post!

vectorvictor

Kevski wrote: »

This episode of Ultimate Airport Dubai gives an insight into repainting an Emirates A330

https://youtu.be/LllVqbhVZy0

What level of human intervention is needed to maintain consistency ?

Fr have harps on their tails tilting every which way. I would have assumed there would be some form of cad process to keep consistency?