Travel Insurance Review

as-seen-on-header

  • Home
  • COVID
    • “Cancel For Any Reason” for COVID19
    • Travel Medical for COVID19
    • State Restrictions for COVID19
    • Airline Change/Cancellation Policies
  • Best Travel Insurance
  • Beginner’s Guide
  • Hurricane
  • Reviews
  • Tips & Advice
  • About
  • Podcast

A Look at U.S. Airline Logos Since the 1920s

June 3, 2013 By Damian Tysdal

A logo is a graphic or image that’s associated with a particular company, organization, or individual and used to encourage instant recognition. The power of a well-designed logo can be immense, but what’s popular – what ‘speaks’ to people – changes over time and company logos evolve to change too. When two companies merge, their individual logos may be kept or left behind depending on the needs of the new company going forward.

Let’s take a look at the logos of the top four airlines over time.

American Airlines Logo History

American Airlines is no newbie to consolidations. The company was formed when a number of small airline companies were incorporated into American Airways, Inc. In 1934, American Airways became American Airlines, Inc. Up untiil the most recent logo redesign, their logo always held the eagle (although facing different directions) and used the colors of  the American flag: red, white, and blue.

The first American Airlines logo (1934 – 1945):

American Airlines Logo 1934

American Airlines flipped the eagle to face the other direction and dropped the red color from 1945 – 1962:

 

American Airlines Logo 1945

Then, in 1962, the company cleaned up the brand to look like this:

American Airlines logo 1962

In February, 2013, American Airlines and US Airways Group announced that the two companies would merge and retain the iconic American Airlines brand with the following logo:

American_Airlines_logo_2013

(Image credits https://logos.wikia.com/)

Delta Airlines Logo History

Delta Airlines began its company history as the first aerial crop dusting company, formerly Huff Daland Dusters, and was established in 1924. It began international mail and passenger routes in 1927. It was an early supporter of the hub-and-spoke system where airplanes brought schedule passengers into a hub airport where they were then connected to other Delta flights to continue on to their destination.

The Delta Airlines logo changed often and so we include only a few variations here.

Delta Airlines logo 1929-1930:

Delta Airlines logo 1929-1930

Delta Airlines logo 1934-1951:

Delta Airlines logo 1934-1951

Delta Airlines logo 1953 – 1955:

Delta Airlines logo 1953 - 1955

Then, Delta decided to clean up the logo and make it simpler (Delta Airlines logo 1959 – 1960):

Delta Airlines logo 1959 - 1960

Later, the red and blue arrows were pointed upward instead of forward (Delta Airlines logo 2004 – 2007):

Delta Airlines logo 2004 - 2007

The current Delta Airlines logo:

Delta Airlines logo current

(Image credits https://www.deltamuseum.org/)

Continental Airlines Logo History

Continental Airlines was founded in 1934 as Varney Speed Lines, which was named after Walter Varney who also started United Airlines (more on that later). Originally, Varney Speed Lines operated as an airmail and passenger service in the American southwest – Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

Continental_first

The airline was soon closely allied with Lockheed and flew Lockheed planes: the Model 9 Orion, the Electra Junior, and the Lodestar. Following the cancellation of all domestic air mail contracts by the Roosevelt administration in 1934, Robert Six purchased the airline and renamed it Continental Air Lines (later changed to ‘airlines’ in 1937).

Continental_Airlines_1965

 

In 1967, Continental introduced a new classic logo and returned to its original red hue:

Continental_Airlines_1967

 

In 1991, the company changed to a blue-hued logo and added the globe:

Continental_Airlines_1991

 

It was displayed in a few variations, including the longitude lines painted on the airplane tail fins in gold. There are even several versions where the word ‘Airlines’ is eliminated.

(Image credits https://logos.wikia.com/)

United Airlines Logo History

United Airlines was founded in Boise, Idaho in 1926 as Varney Air Lines – an air mail service of Walter Varney who also founded Varney Speed Lines which later became Continental Airlines.  Varney Air Lines was renamed Boeing Air Transport in 1927 after it was acquired by the aircraft manufacturer.

In 1933 United began operating the Boeing 247 – the first all-metal airplane and able to fly transcontinental in 20 hours, which made it significantly faster than its earlier predecessors.

United Airlines first logo included an outline of the U.S. map. Notice the use of ‘air lines’ versus ‘airlines’ too:

United_Airlines_Logo_1930

After passage of the Air Mail Act in 1934, United became an independent company again and their logo looked like these two until 1939:

United_Airlines_Logo_1933

United_Airlines_Logo_1935

Through the 1930s and 1940s, the United Airlines logo took on the look of a badge or shield. They also added the U.S. map to demonstrate coast to coast service and later deleted it again:

United_Airlines_Logo_1930s

United_Airlines_Logo_1940s

On the mid-1950s through the 1960s, the shield theme held, but it was slanted:

United_Air_Lines_1955

United_Airlines_logo_1965

In the 1970s, the United Airlines’ logo took on it’s tulip shaped ‘U’ effect which it continued through 2010. It was also here that ‘airlines’ became a single word:

United_Airlines_70s

United_Airlines_80s

United_Airlines_1993

In 2010, United acquired Continental Airlines in a merger and a strange twist of fate considering both were started from the same guy, Walter Varney. The two logos were merged as well:

United_Airlines_2010

(Image credits https://logos.wikia.com/)

Filed Under: General

About Damian Tysdal

Damian Tysdal is the founder of TravelInsuranceReview, and he believes travel insurance should be easier to understand. See more from Damian on Google+.

Click below to find the right travel insurance, with the best coverage, at the lowest price



Get a quote nowInstant prices from all companies


Get a quote nowInstant prices from all companies

About this website

My name is Damian, and I started this website in 2006 to help travelers understand travel insurance.

The site features company reviews, guides, articles, and many blog posts to help you better understand travel insurance and pick the right plan for your trip (assuming you actually need travel insurance).

I am also a licensed travel insurance agent, and you can get a quote and purchase through this site as well.

Get the Cheat Sheet

 Travel Insurance Review, Inc. BBB Business Review


ABOUT TRUST ONLINE
ustia

Popular Companies

  • Allianz Insurance
  • CSA Travel Insurance
  • Seven Corners Insurance
  • Travel Guard Insurance
  • Travel Insured
  • Travelex Insurance
  • TravelSafe Insurance

Learn about Travel Insurance

  • Beginner’s Guide
  • Coverage Guide
  • Tips and Advice
  • Company Reviews
  • Types of Plans
  • Types of Trips

Blog Article Categories

  • Learning
  • Types of Plans
  • Types of Trips
  • Coverage
  • General
  • In The News

Copyright © 2006-2019 Travel Insurance Review Inc. | XML Site Map<a title="XML Site Map"
Information on this Web site is provided for information purposes only. Any information obtained from this Web site should be reviewed with your Policy Certificate. Travel Insurance Review Inc. is not responsible for errors or consequences arising from your use of this information.