I’m running a quick survey on how you think aircraft liveries should be categorized in WoA. This isn’t trivial—aviation is often unnecessarily complicated, so I want to explore how the community believes how some complicated real-world examples should be dealt with: specifically, when the aircraft is operated by a different legal entity than the one whose logo is on the side, or when a large group uses multiple AOCs. Note that all the examples below are regular operations, and not wet leases.
Before asking the question, let’s define the four main ways we could group these flights:
Group by AOC (Air Operator Certificate)
This method groups liveries by the specific legal entity that owns and physically operates the aircraft.
Group by ATC Callsign (ICAO Flight Nfumber)
This method groups liveries by the radio callsign used by the flight crew when talking to Air Traffic Control (e.g., BRICKYARD, RYANAIR).
Group by Marketed IATA Flight Number
This method groups liveries by the public-facing airline brand whose two-letter IATA code (e.g., UA, FR, KL) is used when the ticket is sold.
Group by Livery/Brand
This method groups liveries simply by the visual brand or logo painted on the aircraft itself.
It’s one of those problems that no matter what you do, something will always stick out incorrectly . Just thinking with the likes of Republic, they’re not just United exclusive so would have to be split up amongst the legacy carriers. But then with the liked of easyJet, even though they’re separate airlines, they all look the same and just operate on the routes set out that day for the aircraft. Then with the likes of Ryanair, it’s whatever someone that day decides should go. I feel on the whole, what the aircraft looks like should dictate where it sits, obviously there are some exceptions here and there but I feel its the best metric.
Excited to see where this goes. Great poll .
Edit: Wanted to add to this actually, looking at the likes of Avianca and LATAM, each of the airlines has a different fleet which I feel would be worth respecting as 787s operating out of the like of El Salvador isn’t particularly realistic.
Indeed. I’m also quite conflicted, which is partly the reason I thought it’d be worth making the poll. I’d love to be able to sign contracts with the correct operator just to hear their callsign on the radio. Hearing Brickyard or Commutair at IAD and having the likes of Flyer and Griffin for BA City/Euroflyer would be really cool. At the same time, it would become a nightmare to find the contract you’re looking for if you don’t know the operators (especially for DHL and the US regionals) and would result in a lot duplicates in WoApedia. I personally wouldn’t mind but I know not everyone is like me
Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of others!
I feel that brand should dictate it overall, but with exceptions. DHL should be broken up, for example, and subsidiary brands like United express should be combined into main brand imo.
I was really looking forward to liveries for the upcoming B747 family (B744, B742, B741, 747SP and the Freighter Versions), but I only found a few for the B744.
Really? Come on, I know you can do better!
Do I have to go hunting for them myself?
I mean, I can — but then you can’t blame me if some of your favorites end up missing
Please add them to the Suggestions / Liveries section on the forum, and include pictures where the entire livery is clearly visible.
Ideally, provide views from the top and side — and if the livery is asymmetrical, please include both sides. Thanks!
I promise the thought of having a BA 747 hub at lhr was literally keeping me up at night back in late 2023 when it was first rumored to come with the airport. Even more so because It was the first aircraft I ever flew so it would bring back sooo many memories
. Just thinking with the likes of Republic, they’re not just United exclusive so would have to be split up amongst the legacy carriers. But then with the liked of easyJet, even though they’re separate airlines, they all look the same and just operate on the routes set out that day for the aircraft. Then with the likes of Ryanair, it’s whatever someone that day decides should go. I feel on the whole, what the aircraft looks like should dictate where it sits, obviously there are some exceptions here and there but I feel its the best metric.
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. Does this mean the gates are open for the full 747 family?
Okay, I can provide the corresponding coating information for 744.