Aeroméxico Liveries
The intention of this page is to describe and show all the liveries worn by Aeroméxico and its predecessor Aeronaves de México from 1959 until the present day. Schemes prior to 1959 are not covered.
1959-1972
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The classic 1960s scheme was introduced on the Bristol Britannias. It featured orange for the first time with extra splashes on the tailtop, wingtips, horizontal stabilisers and engines. The classic Eagle Knight logo was within a roundel and featured a lot of detail.
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1972-1981: Thin Orange Stripe
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1972 brought a modernised and simplified scheme using, for the first time, AEROMEXICO titles. The roundel design was eliminated and the Eagle Knight simplified with a more geometric shape. This was superimposed over the bright orange tail. The cheatline was also orange with a thin black outline.
As you can see on the left there were two subtly different versions of the Eagle Knight logo. Initially aircraft in this scheme had a white crown but gradually from 1974 the majority gained an all natural metal finish. Even so some aircraft still wore a white crown as late as 1979. |
1981-1988: Broad Orange Stripe
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The updated scheme from 1981 featured a wide orange cheatline on a natural metal base. The cheatline swooped upwards onto the orange tail with all lower case aeromexico titles. The Eagle Knight emblem was redesigned by Raúl Pérez-Duarte Viesca. It was given a far more stylised form with three feathers at its base and a lot less detail on the face. A large black anti-glare panel completed the look.
This scheme was worn by the Douglas fleet of DC-8s, DC-9s and DC-10s. The new MD-80s wore this livery as their first. Some aircraft, like the DC-8 XA-AMS, had a white base colour rather than natural metal. In 1984 to celebrate the airline's 50th anniversary some aircraft wore special Golden 50th tail titles as seen by the DC-10 in the images below. |
1988-1990: Orange Horizontal Striped Eagle Knight
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In 1988 following the bankruptcy of the original Aeronaves de México and its reformation as Aerovias de Mexico SA de CV the Eagle Knight logo was slightly modified with the feathers replaced by horizontal striping. The main titles were also changed with the accent over the e in Mexico lost and the aero changed from solid white to horizontally striped.
As before some aircraft kept a white fuselage rather than the natural metal, although these were in the minority. |
1990-1998: Blue & Red Horizontal Striped Eagle Knight
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Deregulation of the Mexican market heralded a new colourscheme in January 1990, and a break from the now bankrupt Aeronaves de México. The orange was replaced with dark blue and red. Interestingly the footprint of the scheme stayed roughly the same, no doubt making repaints cheaper but the single orange cheatline was broken into two. Titles now only appeared on the tail of the twinjets and DC-10s, or on the side engines of the DC-9s and MD-80s.
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1997/98: El Espiritu del 88' / 'The Spirit of 88
The Boeing 767-3Y0ER XA-EDE was leased between November 1997 and July 1999 from GPA. She wore a special scheme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of Aerovias de Mexico SA de CV. The scheme was quite simple with the new style (see below) titles and tail but a white fuselage and simple tapering red pinstripe.
1997-1999: Rounded Eagle-Knight
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The most recent modification of the Eagle Knight logo occured in 1997 when it was softened with new rounded edges. The other major change was the removal of the titles on the aft of the aircraft and their repositioning in a more traditional position above the cheatlines. They were also now in a new font, capitalised with a large A and M.
The base colour for the livery remained natural metal but as before some aircraft, seemingly some 757s and MD-87s, had a white base colour. Partly this was probably a result of them serving with the subsidiary Aeromonterrey. 
Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0
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1999-2006: Lowered Cheatline
The previous livery only lasted a few years and was replaced with another alteration. the tail and titles remained the same but the cheatlines were lowered, merged and now tapered towards the rear. This scheme would see the airline through the mid-2000s and only be replaced when new 787s on order could not be made to look natural metal due to all the composites. This scheme was worn the new NG 737-700/800s and 777s as well as 757s, 767-200/300s and MD-80s.
2006-Present: Red Wavy Line on White Base
The current Aeromexico scheme is simple but tasteful and reverts back to an all white fuselage due to composites used in modern aircraft. The Eagle Knight and titles remain unchanged but the lowered cheatline is lost and replaced by a red wave. The tail and rear fuselage gain a red top and lighter blue stripe as well.
2016: Quetzalcoatl
The scheme was unveiled on the first Boeing 787-9, XA-ADL, in September 2016 and named Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), after the god of wind and wisdom prevalent throughout the series of Mesoamerican cultures that inhabited the region that now makes up modern Mexico. The winning design was a result of a 2014 “Design is in the Air” competition run by Aeroméxico, via social media and several universities. Out of 1,000 submitted designs, 400 met the rules and the chosen winner was designed by the graphic designer Jose Manuel Escudero from Veracruz.
As stated by the Aeroméxico CEO Andres Conesa:
“At Aeroméxico, we are very excited about the buzz the Quetzalcoatl design has generated. As Mexico’s flagship carrier, this aircraft will become an icon of our fleet and a reflection of what Mexico is today, with culture and tradition represented in what we consider to be one of the most sophisticated creations of modern aviation engineering.”
As stated by the Aeroméxico CEO Andres Conesa:
“At Aeroméxico, we are very excited about the buzz the Quetzalcoatl design has generated. As Mexico’s flagship carrier, this aircraft will become an icon of our fleet and a reflection of what Mexico is today, with culture and tradition represented in what we consider to be one of the most sophisticated creations of modern aviation engineering.”