German airline Condor unveils candy-stripe plane livery

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German airline Condor unveils candy-stripe plane livery

By Alan Granville
Updated
Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor, says that the airline is looking to repaint up to 80 per cent of its current fleet by 2024.

Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor, says that the airline is looking to repaint up to 80 per cent of its current fleet by 2024.

German airline Condor has unveiled brand-new liveries for its planes, and they are certainly what you'd call "eye-catching".

The airline, which specialises in the holiday market, says the candy-stripe colours are used to evoke images of "parasols, bath towels and beach chairs".

There are five colours being used at the initial launch – yellow, red, blue, green, and beige, and each represents a different aspect of holidays: sunshine (yellow), passion (red), sea (blue), island (green) and beach (beige).

The eye-catching new Condor liveries.

The eye-catching new Condor liveries.Credit: Condor

Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor, says that the airline is looking to repaint up to 80 per cent of its current fleet by 2024.

"Condor has undergone a transformation over the past two and a half years: From a subsidiary of a vertically integrated travel group to an independent airline that looks back proudly on its history and tradition, while at the same time embarking on the path to the future," said Teckentrup.

"We want to express this unmistakably through our corporate identity: Condor is vacation and Condor is unmistakable - like our new design, with which we are now launching into the future."

Condor's new liveries are designed to reflect holiday moods.

Condor's new liveries are designed to reflect holiday moods. Credit: Condor

Condor currently has a fleet of 51 aircraft, with orders for 16 new Airbus A330-900 and two Airbus A330-200.

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The new look will be used across the entire Condor travel experience, from booking websites, to boarding cards and crew uniforms.

Writing for aviation site One Mile At A Time, Ben Schlappig called it "so ridiculous that I love it". Others commentators on social media weren't as impressed.

"What a bizarre livery choice, distinctive but totally incoherent," wrote one person on Twitter.

"To be honest, one of the worst liveries I have ever seen," said another.

Some questioned whether it was a late April Fools' Day joke.

Other unusual liveries

Of course, Condor is not alone in creating unique liveries for its aircraft.

Airlines around the world have been busy with the decals and paint jobs to make their planes stand out. Here are just a few examples of "out of the box" ideas.

All Nippon Airways

Credit: Airbus

The Japanese carrier has three A380s on its Narita to Honolulu route, and each has a special colourful livery.

Called "Flying Honu", the design is based on a sea turtle which is sacred for many in Hawaii.

Kulula​

Credit: Kulula

Bringing a sense of humour to paint jobs, South African low-cost carrier Kulula has come up with a couple of show-stoppers.

One is called "Flying 101", with several arrows pointing out to parts of the plane, such as the Captain (aka the Big Cheese), to the passengers (the coolest peeps in the world).

The design was "to demystify air travel and explain some of the unknowns around air travel and flying".

The airline also painted up a Boeing 737-800 with the words "This Way Up".

Embraer​

Credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

The Brazilian plane maker is a dab hand for painting animals on some of its jets.

To celebrate Kazakhstan's Air Astana's purchase of its 190-E2 jet, the airline painted the country's official symbol, a snow leopard, on the front.

The plane maker also decked out another jet with a shark on the front, calling it "Profit Hunter", and a tiger for the Singapore Airshow back in 2018.

Beluga XL

Credit: AIRBUS

The Airbus plane is already unmissable, but just a simple paint job adds to the "flying whale" illusion.

Eva Air

Combining kitsch and an iconic character, Eva Air embraced Hello Kitty with a range of specially created liveries.

British Airways

Not all liveries have to be flashy to evoke emotions, some are used to bring back memories of the aviation of yesteryear.

One such example was British Airways, which in its centenary year transformed one of its Boeing 747s into the colours of its predecessor British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

Qantas

Credit: Qantas

Mixing art with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, Qantas has produced a number of eye-catching liveries as part of its Flying Art Series.

One such creation was Wunala Dreaming, which "was inspired by the natural colours of Australia, from the bright reds of Central Australia, to the purple-blues of desert mountain ranges, and the lush greens of Kakadu".

Air New Zealand

Credit: Stuff

New Zealand's national carrier isn't afraid of giving its fleet a bit of a touch-up too.

Over the years, Air New Zealand has offered a range of designs, from celebrating the 1999 Rugby World Cup, to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series.

Stuff.co.nz

See also: The private jets Russia's billionaires fly (and why they haven't been seized)

See also: Qantas brings back first class on revamped A380 superjumbos

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