Airlines: November 2008 Archives

Right now in Everett, twin 787s are undergoing final assembly with red painted rudders. Dreamliners Three and Four are destined for Northwest. I've had the pleasure of seeing both at various states of assembly in South Carolina, Kansas and Washington. Dreamliner Three will forever hold a special place in my heart, as it was the first 787 I stepped aboard back in May.

The now-approved merger of Delta and Northwest has provided this blogger with much Photoshop fodder over the past several months. Whether it was their respective fleets side by side when the merger was first announced or the first Delta 747-400 set to emerge from the paint shop next month, this merger has been easy on the eyes.

I went ahead and had some fun with Photoshop yesterday afternoon and painted up a rendering of what a Delta 787 should look like when it emerges from the paintshop. Make sure to click the image for a larger version.

Though, with things progressing sluggishly in Everett, will those two flight test 787s be painted first in Northwest or Delta colors? I would imagine that Delta doesn't love the idea of having to pay for repainting of two new aircraft, so it certainly remains an open question if ZA003 and ZA004 will be born Delta instead of Northwest.

Aviation enthusiasts worldwide have been asking one very important question in the last several months. What Northwest aircraft will be painted first in Delta colors? Here's the answer from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. We've answered the who, now all we need is the when!

The biggest airplane in Northwest Airlines' fleet -- a Boeing 747-400 -- will be the first aircraft to be painted in the red-white-and-blue color scheme of Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest last week.

Photo credit: Jetabout

UPDATE: Well a little bit of addition digging tells me that the first 747-400 will be all painted up by December 12. The aircraft (reg. unknown) will be painted in Victorville, CA and other Northwest planes will be painted in Mississippi.