Feb. 26--The first US Airways airplane painted in the new American Airlines colors came through Philadelphia Wednesday -- Flight 1770 from Atlanta, arriving at 10:37 a.m., at Philadelphia International Airport's Gate B9.
It took 13 days and 80 gallons of paint to remove the old US Airways colors, sand, wash, seal seams, repaint, stencil and detail the Airbus A319.
In all, 300 US Airways and 350 American aircraft will get a similar makeover.
"The integration of our airlines, including painting the rest of the US Airways fleet, will take many months," said American president Scott Kirby.
US Airways merged with American Airlines in December, creating the world's largest airline: American Airlines Group Inc.
Painting the planes marks "an important step in our airlines' integration and a tangible way for customers and employees to see the result of our progress first hand," Kirby said.
By June 30, American anticipates that more than 275 aircraft will have been painted at plants in Roswell, N.M.; Victorville, Calif.; Amarillo, Tex., and Peru, Indiana.
The flight Wednesday, with 76 passengers and five crew, was operated by US Airways. It was scheduled to depart at 3:15 p.m. with 107 passengers to Boston. The freshly-painted aircraft's inaugural flight was Jan. 30 from Charlotte, N.C., to New York LaGuardia Airport.
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