As you would expect, there is considerable uniformity among American Airlines' vast 1,000-strong fleet when it comes to the liveries of these commercial aircraft. However, if you know where to look, you can find splashes of color that take travelers back to different eras of air travel. Let's explore the stories and paint schemes of the various retrojets at the oneworld founding member.

AstroJet

As seen in the photograph above, one of the special liveries deployed by American Airlines is known as AstroJet. Among the aircraft wearing this is a Boeing 737-800 that carries the registration N905NN. According to ATDB.aero, the aircraft has featured its distinctive shiny metal finish since June 2017. This artistic transition occurred just under five years after its delivery to American Airlines.

AstroJet was not the name of one of the many airlines that the carrier has acquired over the years, but instead refers to a marketing designation given to its aircraft. Yesterday's Airlines notes that American Airlines used this designation following consultation with advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach. The first of its aircraft to fully receive this distinctive paint scheme was the Boeing 727 in 1964.

Acquisition-themed Airbus liveries

A key milestone in American Airlines' recent history occurred in October 2015, when it merged with US Airways. In recognition of the merger, American kept one of US Airways' aircraft, a 2014-built Airbus A321 registered as N578UW, in its original livery. US Airways was previously known as Allegheny Airlines, and one of American's retrojets also features a livery in tribute to this carrier.

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As seen above, an A319 registered as N745VJ has also worn an Allegheny livery. The carrier had a long and varied operating history, and, before it became US Airways, it also spent time operating under the USAir brand. This carrier acquired Pacific Southwest Airlines and Piedmont Airlines in the late 1980s, and the former lives on in the form of the Airbus A319 pictured in the tweet below.

Before the famous merger came to pass, US Airways had already devised retrojet schemes for these carriers on some of its existing commercial aircraft. With this in mind, when American inherited the planes in question, all it had to do was change the US Airways logo to its own. Which one do you think looks the best?

Boeing jets also have merger-themed liveries

A key reason for USAir's acquisitions of the likes of Pacific Southwest Airlines and Piedmont Airlines was to help it keep up with American Airlines, which had acquired AirCal at around the same point in time. As you might have guessed, one of the carrier's aircraft wears an AirCal livery today, namely N917NN. This 2013-built Boeing 737-800 has been painted this way since November 2015, as seen below.

One of American Airlines' most notable acquisitions occurred 23 years ago, back in 2001, when it took over fellow long-running US carrier Trans World Airlines (TWA). The iconic red and white brand lives on today, as seen in the tweet embedded below. Much like its AirCal-liveried classmate, N915NN is a Boeing 737-800 that has also been wearing its special paint scheme since November 2015.

As listed in data compiled by Airport Spotting, the final two former carriers represented by American's retro liveries are Reno Air and America West. The airline acquired the former of these at the turn of the century, while the latter acquired US Airways. However, the merged airline retained the US Airways brand. Additionally, one of the carrier's other Boeing 737s features the old 'bare-metal' livery.

A retro-liveried regional aircraft

As will have become abundantly clear by this point, the vast majority of American Airlines' retro liveries can be found on planes that serve its mainline fleet, it does also have an old-school regional aircraft at its disposal. Registered as N760MQ, this ex-BA Cityflyer Embraer E170 is operated by Envoy Air on American Eagle's regional feeder services. It does so in a retro tricolor paint scheme.

As reported by One Mile At A Time, this color scheme was revealed in 2021, and plenty of passengers in a variety of locations will have laid their eyes on it in recent times. Indeed, tracking data from Flightradar24 shows that the retrojet's January operations have seen N760MQ serve destinations including Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Newark, St Louis, and Toronto, to name just a few.

Which of American Airlines' retro liveries is your favorite? Have you ever flown on one of these vibrant jets? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.