Flying Colors of South America
 | DC-8-62 | Braniff International |
The very first special livery was unveiled on October 29, 1973 at Braniff's Dallas Love Field base. On that day the aircraft made a fly-by at the newly opened Dallas-Ft Worth Regional airport and finally landed there to meet additional airline staff.
After having revolutionnized the airlines' liveries in the 1960s with "The End of the Plain Plane" campaign (and the so-called "Solid Colors"), Braniff went further in 1972 by contracting contemporary artist Alexander Calder, using an airplane as a flying artwork. The livery was designed and painted by Calder himself, depicting the bright colours of South America, which made up for an important part of the airline's international network.
The special livery was announced as the airline was celebrating 25 years of service to South America, which had begun on June 4, 1948. It was the first special livery to fly and proved to be an excellent asset to promote Braniff in the US and worldwide. The aircraft was even flown to the 1975 Paris Air Show during which Calder painted additionnal artwork on each of the 4 engines.
Tags Original Artwork