American Airlines has undergone a new color change after 40 long years and unveiled its new logo Thursday at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
An almost bankrupt American Airlines is doing anything and everything to fight the pressure of merging with US Airways. First the company reported a fourth-quarter profit, Wednesday, owing to low cost, reorganization and some bankruptcy-related tax benefits. If the benefits were to be removed, The New York Times reports the airlines would actually be at a loss yet again.
The airlines also underwent a new color and logo change that was unveiled Thursday at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
"We thought it was time to update the look - it's been 40 years," Thomas Horton, CEO of American's parent, AMR Corp., said in an interview.
The red, white and blue stripes along the side of the fuselage have been replaced by a new logo. "American" has been embodied in large letters on the silver body. The tail of the flight has been colored with red and blue horizontal bars, representing the American flag.
As the airlines face bankruptcy, Horton said all creditors of the company was kept informed of the new changes and this new change has in no way disrupted their cost cutting plans.
"We're very much coming to the end of the restructuring, and really all the cost-reduction initiatives have been bolted down," Horton said. "We really are at that moment now to turn the page and set the course for a new American."
The pilots' union of the company who have been long asking for a replacement of management weren't too happy about the changes.
"A new paint job is fine but it does not fix American's network deficiencies and toxic culture," said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.
