Plain Planes

[#1]

Over the years it has become "trendy" for airlines to paint some of their planes with a special design.

Looks nice... but.... how much does it cost ... bearing in mind the plane has to be taken out of service ( yes they may want to do other minor stuff at the same time ) .. the plane has to be prepared...and then it has to be  painted, and then can go back in to service.

Time on the ground, costs money... so it is not going to be seen by "that" many people during turnarounds at airports...  and the people who will actually be flying on it,may never even notice it... as they proceed from the airport lounge via tunnels and tube walkways to board the aircraft.

I can only assme that this was Etihad`s idea of supporting Brexit ....

but at what cost ..... no wonder flying is so expensive ....

Some interesting expensive paint jobs here ! ! !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCy9QZWKLe4

and here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOp73CIxQRc

[#2]

The weight of paint on a A380 would be over 1000kg,  which is peanuts

compared to the weight of the aircraft,  but the USA did this after the war

and enjoyed an increase in performance with lower fuel usage.

https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-u-s-army-air-forces-strips-its-planes-of-paint/

[#3]

Believe it or not, many liveries are applied with vinyl stickers just like road vehicles. It seems to withstand 400mph winds without problems and if a sheet is lifting the edge is secured with a length of clear tape. Many if not most airliners are finished in white so the machine leased to Flybynight this year can be quickly reliveried when Dodgy Airlines lease it next year.

[#4]

---

@Longliner wrote:

Believe it or not, many liveries are applied with vinyl stickers just like road vehicles. It seems to withstand 400mph winds without problems

---

Problem is most jet powered airliners fly nearer 600mph. 

The reason Rolls- Royce almost went bust in early 1970's when they tried to replace metal

fan blades with carbon fibre to save weight was that the pollutants in the air quite quickly

made the edges  of blades resemble toothbrushes and they had to go back to titanium..

[#5]

I think they can look really good, and as @Longliner said many of them would be stickers.

The Americans had quite a thing for tarting  up their planes in the last war, and then there was the Red Baron during the first world war - a paint job that must have taken him all day... and then somebody went and shot him down! 

[#6]

@shutter  many of the aircraft shown in your clips are painted for sponsership purposes so the cost will be paid by the companies being sponsored. It is nice to see the various planes at airports when travelling.

As for the cost of flying you seem to be out of touch with prices. You can fly to the US and South America for around £400 and at this present time fly to parts of Europe for £20.  Return dates quoted. I don't know how often you fly but you must agree these prices are extremely competative.

.

[#7]

Those that worry about climate change might say those prices are very....worrying.

Just saying. 😟

[#8]

Can only agree @artmo . Even flying to the Far East (6000 miles), I've regularly had flights for little more than £420 return. OK I'm not too fussed when I fly and tend to look for bargains. I usually get 30Kg of bag space (handy for taking stuff to extended family) and a seat with meals etc.for that. Cheapest recently was £375 return. Even wanting to fly say next month comes in below £500 return. You'd be hard pressed to do 12000 miles by train, car etc for the same money and be as quick.

[#9]

Some of us live in the real world.

Just saying.

[#10]

Great news guys, as well as global warming why not paint an image of the corona virus on the tailplane? 

@artmo 

By the real world, do you mean regular international flights?

I know how you like to remind us mere mortals but sorry, but most of us don't live there. 

[#11]

Safety first...  😉

[#12]

And BA re- panted some aircraft for their anniversary last year.

[#13]

Braniff had an almost all orange livery (and interior!), and Norwegian's aircraft look like the cockpit end has been dipped in red paint, hence the callsign Rednose for their UK division.  As someone on Youtube said, "Thank goodness the front of their aircraft aren't brown."