The vintage airline liveries that should make a comeback
Cathay Pacific has revived its 1970s-1990s livery to mark the airline’s 80th birthday
Airline liveries are more than just a pretty paint job – they are airborne advertisements laden with symbolism, designed to convey everything from brand values and national identity to reliability and affordability.
Simple designs featuring sleek horizontal “cheatlines” painted on polished metal fuselages date back to the 1920s, but the branding game really took off after the Second World War. This is the era that delivered Pan Am’s globe, Qantas’s flying kangaroo and the Japan Airlines crane – logos so indelible one could easily draw them from memory.
Next came the “Eurowhite” era, developed in the 1970s, in which white was the dominant colour. It gave us sleek designs from the likes of Air France, Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific. These were liveries that captured the imagination and embodied the wonder of air travel in ways that airlines struggle to do today. Amid a sky full of bland corporate designs and zany paint jobs better suited to children’s toys, many deserve a revival.
Cathay Pacific’s ‘Lettuce Leaf Sandwich’
The first livery on our list is being resurrected, if only in a limited way. This year, as part of Cathay Pacific’s 80th birthday celebrations, the Hong Kong-based airline has revived its beloved 1970s-1990s livery. Affectionately known as the Lettuce Leaf Sandwich, the clean-lined look features a crisp, dark green stripe on a bright Eurowhite background (see the image at the top of this page). Advertisements from the time showed the sarnie banking into Kai Tak Airport accompanied by Barry White’s Love’s Theme.
Planespotters can scan for two repainted aircraft: an Airbus A350-900 (registration B-LRJ) and a Cathay Cargo Boeing 747-8F (B-LJE), both of which operate on long-haul routes. If you’re hungry for more, look out for 1,000 cabin crew wearing vintage uniforms on select flights throughout 2026.
Lufthansa’s Lockheed Super Star
Lufthansa’s Super Star design epitomises the glamour of the 1950s jet age. First seen in 1957 on the long-range, piston-engined Lockheed L-1649A Super Star, this fabulous fuselage featured a polished metal belly, a navy-blue-and-yellow cheatline and a bold Profil typeface.
As part of the airline’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2026, the German carrier has recreated the look on an Airbus A321-200 (D-AISZ), albeit with a grey underbelly. One of the airline’s original Lockheeds sporting the retro design can also be seen at the new Lufthansa conference centre at Frankfurt airport.
Air India’s Flying Palace
Few airlines have managed to capture their national identity more effectively than Air India’s Flying Palace concept, which included a delicate ruby-red cheatline swooping up to the tail and Rajasthani-style jharokha frames painted around the windows. First introduced in 1971, the window frames featured on one version of the livery or another for more than 50 years before being inexplicably dropped during the latest, less original, rebrand.
The new livery is still being rolled out, so you can catch sight of the intricate window frames on aircraft which have yet to be repainted.
An Air India Boeing 747-400 Flying Palace, with jharokha frames painted around the windows - Ullstein Bild
British Airways’ Landor
While the new British Airways livery is undeniably elegant, the Landor, created by Landor Associates, will always have a place in the hearts of Britons of a certain vintage. Adorning aircraft from 1984 to 1997, the quintessentially British aesthetic featured midnight-blue blocks of colour, a letterbox-red “speedbird” stripe and a neat quarter Union Flag on the tail.
The design has made a brief appearance since its retirement, on the Boeing 747 Heathrow-Miami route from 2019 to 2023, but will we see it again?
The Landor design adorned British Airways planes from 1984 to 1997 - Peter Jordan/Popperfoto
Gulf Air’s Golden Falcon
The distinctive golden livery of Bahrain’s national carrier is another winning effort from Landor Associates, which also created designs for Thai Airways and the now-defunct Alitalia. Introduced in 2003, the bold styling featured a metallic-gold forward fuselage, contrasting indigo accents and a pouncing golden falcon unfurling across a pearl-white tail.
The airline shifted to a simpler design with the name writ billboard-style across the body in 2018, arguably a less identifiable and less regal look.
The distinctive golden livery of Bahrain’s national carrier was replaced in 2018 - Anthony Kay/Flight/Alamy Stock Photo
Air Force One’s Loewy livery
Our final entry belongs to a state, not an airline. Any United States Air Force plane carrying the country’s president is referred to as Air Force One. However, the current presidential fleet includes two specially configured Boeing 747-800s, a third Boeing 747-800 donated to President Trump by Qatar, plus a number of smaller Boeing C-32s. All are currently being rebranded in a red, white and blue colour scheme with a Stars and Stripes flag flowing across the tail, not dissimilar to Trump’s private Boeing 757.
The White House rebrand marks the end of the far more elegant baby blue and gold-trimmed livery designed by Raymond Loewy, which has been in service since the 1960s.
US president John F Kennedy waves from Air Force One in Hawaii, 1963 - Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group Editorial
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