Graphic Design History-American Airlines

AA Was Founded

Mar 4, 1930

This company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas and was founded as American Airways when a number of small airline companies were incorporated together. It now has a fleet size of 605. It also started as a subsidary of AMR Corporation.

First Logo of AA

Mar 4, 1934

This logo was the first fo this company. It held an eagle and used the colors of the american flag. This logo lasted from 1934-1945.

AA Gets A New Name

Mar 6, 1934

American Airways changes to American Airlines. With ths new name they get a new face and become a bigger corporation. The fleet becomes more organized and experienced.

One Millionth Passenger

Mar 6, 1937

AA carries its one millionth passenger. This passenger got no award but the plane had a celebration. He was with his family on a trip from Minnesota to Colorado.

Change of Logo

Mar 4, 1945

Then the company flipped the eagle to face the other direction and dropped the red color. This logo lasted from 1945-1962.

Cleaning Up The Logo

Mar 4, 1962

Then American Airlines cleaned up the brand so that the eagle was not the main focus of the logo. It also included the company name and brought back the red color. This logo lasted until recently in 2013 when they changed it yet again.

Most Memorable AA Logo

Mar 4, 1967

Massimo Vignelli created the this AA logo. He was a noted Italian graphic designer. He created the winged AA logo in 1962. This became the most known of all the AA logos.

Frequent Flier

Mar 6, 1981

AA begins to offer frequent flier advantages and creates a program for this.It is a program that benefits people who used AA frequently. This became a model for other loyalty programs at other airlines.

CEO

Mar 6, 1985

Robert L. Crandall became chairman and the CEO of AA. He was called an industry legend by airline industry observers. Crandall has been the subject of several books and is a member of the Hall of Honor of the Conrad Hilton college.

One Billionth Passenger

Mar 6, 1991

AA carries its one billionth passenger. This passenger was on a flight from California to North Dakota. This person was awarded with a free round trip flight.

Made Logo Internet-Compatible

Mar 4, 1997

AA bought the domain AA.com and made its logo internet compatible. They branded their website with the company's emblem.

Change of Logo

Mar 4, 2013

AA changed it logo to this simpler design. It has new shades of red white and blue. The reason for this change is that its new planes will have to be painted instead of keeping its classic "silver bird" look so this logo works better with that.