Special liveries: how to find them

Alliance liveries: how to recognize Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam

Black tail, silver fuselage, giant lettering: how to recognize the special designs of Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam, why they exist and how to hunt them for your hangar.

Movie, comic and character liveries: Pokémon jets, Star Wars, Disney and more

From ANA’s first Pokémon jumbo in 1998 to the new Pokémon jets in 2026: which movie, comic and character liveries there have been, which are still flying and how to get them in front of your lens.

How an aircraft is painted: from stripping to clear coat

A new livery is craftsmanship on an XXL scale: strip the old paint, protect the surface, build up new layers one by one. The process, the time needed, the paint shops and what it means for your sightings.

Aircraft paint jobs: what they cost, how much they weigh and how long they last

Hundreds of kilograms of paint, two weeks in the hangar and an aircraft that earns no money in the meantime: what an aircraft paint job really costs, how much it weighs and why it eventually has to be renewed.

Film or paint: how special liveries get onto an aircraft

Fully painted, partly covered with film or both: how airlines apply special liveries, why the two are almost always combined and what that means for lifespan and spotting planning.

Football and sports special liveries: national teams, clubs and tournaments

From the Fanhansa winners’ plane to the Belgian Red Devils jet and tournament liveries from Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways: how sport gets onto the fuselage, which forms exist and how to catch such aircraft.

House liveries of Airbus, Boeing and Embraer: spotting test aircraft and demonstrators

Carbon A350, grinning BelugaXL, predator E2 and ecoDemonstrator: how Airbus, Boeing and Embraer paint their test and demonstration aircraft and where you can catch them as a spotter.

Spotting hybrid liveries: when one aircraft wears two airlines

New titles on an old livery, a tail in someone else’s colors or a white fuselage with stickers: hybrid liveries are transitional states. How to spot them, why they exist and how to document them cleanly.

Anniversary liveries: how airlines put birthdays and milestones on their aircraft

From a title near the nose to a full repaint: how airlines put big birthdays on their aircraft, which anniversary jets from Lufthansa, KLM, Qantas, United, SAS and others are known and how to catch them as a spotter.

Art on aircraft: artist liveries from Calder to today

When a fuselage becomes a canvas: Alexander Calder at Braniff, British Airways’ World Images, Qantas’ Flying Art series and new projects like AIRSORAYAMA at Starlux – history, background and spotting tips.

When airlines change their design: rebranding, transition periods and the last old liveries

A new design is unveiled in a day, but takes years to reach the whole fleet. How rebrandings work, what the transition period means for spotters and how to find the last old liveries on purpose.

Legendary airline liveries: Pan Am, Braniff, Swissair and more

From Pan Am’s blue globe to Braniff’s single-color jets and Calder’s flying works of art to the Swissair cross: which liveries made aviation history, what set them apart and where they return as retro liveries.

Livery design explained: cheatline, Eurowhite, tail, titles and belly

Every airline livery is made of a few building blocks: base fuselage color, accent stripe, tail, titles and underside. If you know the terms, you read liveries faster, describe them more precisely and recognize airlines from a distance.

Pride liveries: rainbows and messages on aircraft

From the Lovehansa to the Fly with Pride A320: how airlines put rainbow colors and social messages on their aircraft, which examples are well known and how to get these aircraft in your viewfinder.

Spotting government aircraft: how to catch state jets without a flight plan

Government aircraft have no flight plan and no flight number – and that’s exactly why they’re so sought after. How to recognize them, where your chances are best, how to combine news and trackers, and where the limits on photography lie.

Retro liveries: heritage paint schemes from Lufthansa, British Airways, American and more

Old colors on modern jets: how Lufthansa, British Airways, American Airlines and other airlines put their history on the fuselage – and what to look for as a spotter when it comes to heritage liveries.

Spotting rare aircraft: unicorns, first visits and ferry flights

What counts as rare at your airport depends on its everyday traffic. How to recognize unicorns, first visits, ferry flights and diversions, hear about them in time and be at the right spot.

Special liveries of German airlines: Lufthansa, Condor, Eurowings, TUIfly and more

Anniversary jets for Lufthansa’s centennial, Condor’s retro Airbus, Eurowings’ BVB aircraft and TUIfly’s colorful advertising era: an overview of special liveries of German airlines – with registrations, backgrounds and spotting tips.

Special liveries from Austria and Switzerland: Austrian, SWISS, Edelweiss and more

From the retro A320 OE-LBO to the Johann Strauss 777 and SWISS’s Wanderlust A350: which special liveries Austrian, SWISS and Edelweiss wear, which are already history and how to catch them in Vienna and Zurich.

Finding special liveries: how to catch them on purpose

A special livery sits on exactly one aircraft. If you know the registration, read flight patterns and use live data properly, you are no longer at the fence by chance but on purpose.

NATO Tiger Meet and military special liveries: tiger stripes, anniversaries, display teams

Tiger stripes at the NATO Tiger Meet, wraps for squadron anniversaries and solo display jets: what is behind military special liveries, why they fly only briefly and how to catch them in time.

Why are most airplanes white? The reasons behind the livery

White reflects sunlight, shows damage, makes leasing easier and saves money on repainting. Why the white fuselage took over from the 1970s, who deliberately breaks ranks and what to watch for at the fence.

Advertising liveries: when aircraft fly for brands, regions and cities

Gold bears on the 737, an orca on the fuselage, a whole airline as a billboard: advertising liveries are short-lived and therefore sought after. What is behind them, which forms exist and how to catch them.