With the recent mergers of American Airlines and US Airways, Delta and Northwest, as well as United and Continental, there are just three major international airlines left in America.
As the once great variety of names and brands withered away, so did their iconic paint jobs. Although some of these airlines have gone extinct, others have simply been merged into larger companies. All of them make great candidates for a special edition "retro" paint job to remind the airlines' passengers of its heritage.
Here are a collection 16 from America and abroad that we would love to see taking to the skies once again.
Pacific Southwest Airlines was famous for it's "smiling" paint job. Flyers were treated to this paint job until 1988, when the airline became part of US Airways. Prior to its merger with American Airlines, US Airways actually flew an Airbus A319 with the old PSA design.
For more than 75 years, Trans World Airlines and its iconic red and white airplanes were among the most recognizable in world. The airline, made famous by billionaire Howard Hughes, managed to stay aloft until 2001, when it was swallowed up American Airlines.
As for American Airlines itself, its shimmering unpainted airliners have become a common sight at airports around the world. American Airlines' venerable Massimo Vignelli "AA" logo and corresponding paint scheme went virtually unchanged from 1967 to 2013.
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