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...from Heathrow to Charles De Gaulle...it's Air France's turn!


tBBP

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Did I just type SEVENTEEN?

Sheesh...seems like it's been so LONG since I first started this project! But eh well...the masses love it, and so therefore it continues!

Here's what you may have missed, in case you're new to this:

American Airlines

United Airlines

Northwest Airlines

US Airways

Delta Air Lines

Southwest Airlines

Midwest Airlines

Continental Airlines

AirTran Airways

America West Airlines

Song

Air Canada

JetBlue Airways

Independence Air

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

British Airways

And now...let's make that jump from London to Paris...home of Charles De Gaulle Airport, home base of one Air France. (The AFL further explands its borders...)

So here's the backstory on Air France:

Air France was essentially born out of a merger of five different carriers back in 1933. Those carriers were Air Orient, Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA, the first French carrier, founded as Lignes Aériennes Farman in 1919), Air Union and CIDNA (Compagnie Internationale de Navigation). Here's an interesting little tidbit about the airline: during World War II, due to all the mess that was going on in France at the time, the airline temporarily relocated its base of operations to Casablanca, Morocco. (Go back and watch that movie--the original version, anyway--and note how many times you see an Air France aircraft in it; I didn't know it until after I researched this concept project, then saw it for myself--and I'll be g** damned if AF wasn't put on shine in that movie!) Good things started to happen after the airline was nationalised in 1946. For one, the guy tapped to helm the airline, Max Hymans, in 1948 (note the name and year...you'll see why in a bit) was adamant about modernizing the airline's fleet. Though they went through several different manufactuers, during the eraly part fo the '70s they pretty much stuck with Airbus Industrie--which makes sense, since Airbus's final assembly plant and corporate HQ is in Toulouse, France. And, as those who read the intro for my British Airways concept already saw (or for those who knew it anyway), AF, along with BA, launched supersonic service with the Concorde in 1976. Also, for those who remember from my backstory on my KLM concept, in '03, AF and KLM announced a merger between the two, which came to fruition in '04. (Anyone remember me mentioning doing a throwback uniform set as a 3rd/alt for my KLM set? Well, I also mentioned that AF had its own concept set...and now here it is!)

Okay, so on to the design process...

First of all, take a look at AF's current livery. You wanna talk plain? That's about as plain as plain can get. And oh by the way, the tail design is an abstraction of France's national flag--or so says the company. I didn't exactly do with that design what I did with BA's helmets--at least not in my final draft. (It didn't look right at all.) The "cropped" version of that design (which is also AF's "pseudo-logo") is on the helmet, however. And since we're on that "slashline" design, I had fun with that on this concept. You'll see that pattern repeated throughout the primaries. I managed to warp it into a pants stripe (both sets of pants are white, by the way), and I also even re-created that pattern on the socks (Paul Lukas would LOVE IT!). Other than that, the uniforms themselves are pretty, well, plain--but then, you saw what I had to work with, too. (Oh--and speaking of plain, the facemasks are also white. It's in keeping with the "plainness" of AF's livery. Just thought I'd mention that.) Just to add some kind of pep to it, I added AF's wordmark on the sleeves. (That was also a back-door way to get some red onto the jerseys, because as you'll notice, other than that, there is none on there.

Okay, the 3rd/alt...back in AF's early history, they employed a pegasus as their logo. They've actually used several different mythical animals during their history--and apparently a few other airlines used this practice too...but that's another story for another time. Anyway, as for why they used the colors dark midnight blue and turquoise green, I haven't a clue, and research did not turn up an answer. Here's one of AF's planes from the late '50s. (This livery was utilized until the early '70s.) However, you can get a better idea of the plane--and its colors--from this shot here. The plane the folks are stepping off of is one of AF's early De Havillands. If you look real closely at the tail of that aircraft (look at the top right of the photo), you can see that old pegasus logo. That logo is on the silver domes of the 3rd/alt. The pants are also silver, and the jersey, as usual with the 3rd/alts in this series, is white. That striping pattern you saw on the old photo also found its way onto this concept, as striping for the sleeves, pants, and socks. The numbers are also turquoise-trimmed midnight blue (but without the white line running through the middle--this is AF's throwback concept, not the U. of Colorado Buffaloes here. :D )

So there's your explanation...and here's the visual presentation.

Folks, I present to you Air France!!!

Let's get the C&C going on this!!!

AFLAirFrance.png

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

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anyone???

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

|| dribbble || Behance ||

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Very nice... I love how you used the stripe logo for the pants AND the socks. Very creative. Only thing I don't like is that the jerseys just seem so plain to me, but I realize that you didn't have very much to work with. I like the font choice too, seems like it fits with the airline to me. Overall, excellent job Bucco!

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Very nice... I love how you used the stripe logo for the pants AND the socks. Very creative. Only thing I don't like is that the jerseys just seem so plain to me, but I realize that you didn't have very much to work with. I like the font choice too, seems like it fits with the airline to me. Overall, excellent job Bucco!

'Preciate the looks...(and have fun with those temps.)

Anyone else?

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

|| dribbble || Behance ||

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I'll really have to swallow my dislike of France for this one, but here goes...

I guess the best thing I can say about this design is that it looks like something a French national team would wear. I like the use of white helmets and the translation of the logo into the sock and pant striping. Well done.

QPR%20Sig.png

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Wow - those pants are awesome! The set overall is great but the pants and stripes are spectacular work.

As an aside, I've been away in Seattle and finally made it to the Museum of Flight out there. The highlight of the visit was touring a former Air Force One and a Concorde. I knew the Concorde cabin was small but was shocked at HOW small it really is. I'm 6'2" and could only stand upright smack in the middle of the aisle. Seating is 2 x 2 and the windows the size of half a sheet of paper. The seats are narrow and overall, it was like a 100-seat regional jet inside.

The plane that served as Air Force One is amazing too, very small inside (it's a narrowbody of course, same cabin cross-section as a 737) and full of interesting touches like the doggy door cut into a bulkhead for Johnson's beagles. Maybe the funniest contrast was a communications station bristling with then state-of-the-art equipment, complete with...a hand-cranked pencil sharpener on one wall!

Trivia fact BTW, for those unfamiliar with aviation..."Air Force One" is not a specific aircraft, it's a radio call sign used for any Air Force plane carrying the President. So even this would be called Air Force One if the President was aboard. Likewise, the helicopter that flies the President is called "Marine One."

Anyway, yet another great set. Thanks for your efforts on these.

92512B20-6264-4E6C-AAF2-7A1D44E9958B-481-00000047E259721F.jpeg

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