No More Luxury Jets?

[FA Mikey]

I have noticed over the last few days AA is removing from near the nose the a/c type and luxury jet stickers. Anyone know why?

 

[s80dude]

Perhaps they have realized that flying is no longer a luxury experience.

 

[Rob]

Luxury Jet = irony.

 

[1AA]

The luxury jet names have been coming off for several months now. There was a memo out on it and it stated that the passengers do not really pay attention to it. I believe it comes down to cost. In the near future you might see the stripes come off and then the eagle on the tail and then the AA name. People really do not care what airline they fly or what the paint scheme looks like, they just want the cheapest fair. Think of the weight savings if AA removed the stripes and the logo on the tail......

BTW: Aircraft 5EL (757) which was originally painted in the retro scheme is now in service with the current AA scheme. :down:

 

[LiveInAHotel]

BTW: Aircraft 5EL (757) which was originally painted in the retro scheme is now in service with the current AA scheme. :down:

And you wonder why we continue to be in financial trouble! What a BIG waste of money. It looked really cool in the retro colors. I wonder if they will change the 737 AstroJet back to the current colors?

 

[AAmech]

It was returned to the current livery because it would have been extreemly expensive to have a new set of Retro decals made up on a special order. We have the current stuff in stock.

 

[AAmech]

The AC type and "Luxury Jet" are coming off as cost saving measures. Flying is no longer a Novel experience and very few passengers care what type plane they are flying on. Why spend the money replacing these decals? And the Luxury Jet removal is obvious. Flying domestic is anything but Luxury and replacing them with "Cattle Car" or "Slave Galley" would be in poor taste!

 

[mga707]

The AC type and "Luxury Jet" are coming off as cost saving measures. Flying is no longer a Novel experience and very few passengers care what type plane they are flying on. Why spend the money replacing these decals? And the Luxury Jet removal is obvious. Flying domestic is anything but Luxury and replacing them with "Cattle Car" or "Slave Galley" would be in poor taste!

A bit of "LuxuryLiner" history for you young'uns:

When the current (and by now ancient) AA color scheme was first introduced in 1969, the 707s and 727s repainted into the new colors simply said "Astrojet" under the nose. This was AA's proprietary and quite well-known term, having been introduced when the early 707/720 "water wagons" were upgraded to turbofan engines in the early '60s.
When the 747 and DC-10 were introduced into service in 1970 and '71, respectively, they wore "747/DC-10 Astroliner" titles instead of the generic "Astrojet" as on the smaller jets.
Then, between 1972 and 1975, AA's 707s and 727s were upgraded with "wide body look" interiors, including enclosed overhead bins. At this time the "Astrojet" titles were replaced with the "707/727 LuxuryJet" titles, while the 747s and DC-10s were changed accordingly to "LuxuryLiners". Of course, after May 1979 the DC-10s lost their specific ID, reverting to "American Airlines LuxuryLiner", but that is another story...
Anyway as each new aircraft type was introduced (767 in 1982, MD-80 in '83, etc.) it also wore type-specific "LuxuryJet" or "LuxuryLiner" badges, depending on whether it was a narrow or wide body.
I too am actually surprised that they have lasted as long as they have.

 

[Wild Onion]

Wow! I can't remember the last time I read this board and it wasn't a venomous diatribe about labor relations or TWA integration.

Thanks MGA, for the little AA history lesson! Very fun.

 

[LiveInAHotel]

Wow! I can't remember the last time I read this board and it wasn't a venomous diatribe about labor relations or TWA integration.

It was fine until you brought it up! 😉