Des Couleurs Magnifiques
October 6, 2025
I’m just back from Paris today, and apropos of nothing else, here’s a shout-out to Air France. That is, a round of applause for the longevity of the airline’s paint scheme, which I was admiring through the windows at Charles de Gaulle.
It’s downright impressive how long Air France has worn its current livery. As well it should; it’s one of the best.
Back in the late 1970s, Air France was one of the first major carriers to ditch the horizontal “cheat line” striping and move to what aviation nerds call the “Eurowhite” look. And for more than four decades it’s served them well.
There have been revisions. The tail stripes have been softened, and, more recently, the typeface was enlarged and now spells the compound AIRFRANCE. But the template overall has stayed the same. I can think of no other airline whose colors have been so consistent for so long. Singapore, maybe?
The livery incorporates Air France’s distinctive circular logo — one of the industry’s most enduring trademarks and a classic of airline iconography. It’s known as the Hippocampe Ailé, and it dates to 1933, featuring a Pegasus head with the tail of a mythical sea dragon. (The design reminds us of the Homa of Iran Air, around since the ’60s.)
We’re glad they didn’t ditch this emblem, deeming it too anachronistic or some such. On the contrary, they’ve made it bigger, in a prominent spot just aft of the cockpit windows.
Related Story:
THE PECULIAR LOGO OF IRAN AIR
Photos by the author.
Leave a Comment
Maximum 1500 characters. Watch your spelling and grammar. Poorly written posts will be deleted!
6 Responses to “Des Couleurs Magnifiques”
You are viewing newest comments first. Click to reverse order
Transiting CDG is a nightmare, though it isn’t bad if Paris is your destination (the train is great). Personally, I’ve always found AF crews, service and equipment to be very good.
What I eventually found was an even darker corner of CDG … Terminal 1. Apparently it’s been renovated recently, but pre-reno T1 was like the set of some dystopian 70’s sci-fi serial. It was fundamentally confusing and weird.
I fly Air France a lot. I live in Europe and travel to the US frequently, most commonly on Air France/KLM/Delta.
Contrary to James, I find the Air France crews to be very friendly and most helpful. For example, when traveling here (back to Europe) with a very expensive (to replace) guitar, there wasn’t a closet large enough to stow it. So the flight attendants put me in a seat next to an empty seat, and asked me to just put a seatbelt around it. I have many other examples too, but I have found them to be very nice.
I would partially agree about CDG being frustrating, but once you get used to it, it’s not so bad. You just need to time your connections accordingly. FRA is the airport that I will avoid at all costs.
Just to reinforce the comment from Jeff below (I tried to comment but nothing happened…..). I fly regularly to Europe, and have learned to avoid CDG if at all possible. Schiphol, Munich, and (gasp) even LHR are far easier to navigate and transfer through. I have also found that KLM and almost any other Delta partners (I am a long time NW / Delta loyal passenger) are always friendlier and more accommodating than Air France flight crews. Agreed that the Air France planes are lovely—-but the rest—not so much.
What’s with the “Eurowhite” look, which is now globalwhite? Is there some practical reason why the majority of aircraft are mainly all-white plus logo — thermal management, cost? Even going back through the decades, white is the go-to (non)colour (plus stripe), like Pan Am. I agree Air France’s scheme works well with in this bleached out look.
My first — and for a long time, only — exposure to the Hippocampe Ailé was in the movie Casablanca. I had no idea what it was, and, as much as I loved planes, didn’t bother finding out until much later in life. You can see it here: https://popculturereferences.com/was-the-famous-rick-ilsa-scene-in-casablanca-done-in-front-of-a-cardboard-model-of-a-plane/
No place on earth is designed to enrage you more than CDG. Transiting there three times has convinced me to go out of my way to never do so again.