RafaelM

any reasons why american airlines does not paint their aircrafts, just let them grey?

soaplakegirl

It saves weight on the plane thus increasing fuel mileage.

sleepydo

AA planes are powercoated not painted. any bare metal will have rust on it.gray is powercoated color.

BrianA7470

As the first person said that much paint does weigh a bit. There is also the fact that paint is not free and needs to be maintained.

MissMotaMouth

No paint does reduce weigh and fuel consumption but it also dramatically reduces the maintenance on their planes because they do not have to spend as much on paint or labor.

Doggzilla

The only reason is that it looks good, that it. The paint on the aircraft doenst even weigh as much as a single piece of luggage and the fuel savings would be so little they would never notice it. On the other hand, having no paint means you dont have to hire people to do hours and hours painting the aircraft, which would cost tens of thousands per aircraft.It does not have any effect whatsoever on the useful load of the aircraft, the weight of the aircraft is calculated by adding all the components of the aircraft together, not including paint.The aircraft would be certified to carry just as much weight, and the pilots would never be able to tell the difference seeing that many of these aircraft weight over 200 tons loaded. Some weigh as much as 600 tons.

captsead0nkey

Paint has weight, and any added weight to to an aircraft decreases the amount of useful load on the aircraft. This means that the aircraft can hold more weight, and more weight on an aircraft also means more profit for the airline. Aluminum does not rust, but is subject to corrosion, so maintence costs are about the same due to inspections on the aircraft. Bare metal also has to be cleaned and polished like paint so maintence costs are about the same. Also a lighter plane when load is empty saves a small amount of fuel, but the main reason is to increase the amount of revenue that the aircraft can make by increasing the amount of weight that they can take.

Baron_von_Party

It's less weight and looks cool, but to keep looking cool it does need to be polished from time to time. I'd say cost-wise it's a draw, plus the added benefit of less weight on the plane and a unique appearance. Nothing like seeing a freshly polished AA plane taxiing in to OHare and seeing your reflection.

stolsai6645

According to http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_05/textonly/fo01txt.html#table1 "net operating cost of polished airplanes is slightly more than that of painted airplanes"An AA 777 has 50lbs of paint vs a fully painted 777 that has 475lbs of paint.I remember reading AA feels that polishing a plane requires less labor and time than painting, then many years later, stripping and repainting. There's a lot of good info on that site but here's a quoted summary."Though the weight of paint adds to fuel consumption, the fuel-cost savings offered by polished surfaces is outweighed by the cost of maintaining the polished surfaces. However, because this difference is a very small percentage of operating cost, many operators decide to paint or polish their airplanes based on marketing and environmental impact considerations. Some believe that a distinctive image can best be achieved with a full paint scheme, while others believe the image can be projected best by mostly polished surfaces. The availability of safe solvents and facilities that comply with environmental laws can also play a role in the choice between painting and polishing."I have noticed some airlines have painted passenger planes and polished freighters like JAL, NWA, Cathay.It looks good during the day but at night, when you shine your flashlight at it, the light just bounces off the mirror like skin. You just can't see anything.

Mark2417

Esthetics.The planes are clearcoated. They're not as light as if they were not painted. The weight of the powercoat is about the same as paint.If they were not coated they would be paying plenty to buff them frequently. There are many answerers here who don't know what they're talking about.