Jungle Jet Jungle Jets
1973 saw the introduction of Braniff’s Calder breakthrough flying artwork called Flying Colours of South America. This aircraft was a frequent visitor to Ecuador on the Miami to Guayaquil/Quito route and Braniff was the established carrier on the market.
It is one of the reasons why, when state carrier Ecuatoriana was relaunched in 1974 (even though it was run by the Ecuadorian Air Force), a rather unconservative decision was initiated: each of the two 720B to be acquired by the airline would wear a unique livery designed by Quito-born artist Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-1999). He was an Ecuadorian master painter and sculptor of Quechua and Mestizo heritage. His Pan-American art of human and social inequalities achieved international recognition; it is however its take on pre-columbian patterns that can be appreciated here.
The project called for five liveries to represent 5 Ecuadorian provinces and while the first two aircraft were designed by Guayasamín himself (or adapted from his work), the last three aircraft were designed by uncredited artists, possibly from the School of Fine Arts of Quito.