June 18, 1971. Three Boeing 737-200s — delivery slots taken over from Air California, Aloha Airlines, and Pacific Southwest Airlines — lift off from Dallas Love Field drenched in Desert Gold.
Ochre. Burnt red. Orange. White pinstripes nose to tail.
Spotters called them "Mustard Rockets."
Here's the obscure bit. In the 1970s, every airline painted its decorative stripe — the cheatline — across the middle of the fuselage. Southwest ran its pinstripes along the belly instead. It was considered rebellious. For a paint job.
The original tri-colour logo? Inspired by a ramp agent's uniform. Those angled stripes mimicked a tail fin in motion. Southwest didn't even formalise it as an official brand mark until 1981. Didn't need to.
That golden look survived thirty years.
On January 16, 2001, Canyon Blue replaced it — the first livery change in the airline's history. The gold vanished overnight. No major U.S. carrier had dared go this loud.
But the knockout punch came September 8, 2014.
The Heart livery encoded meaning into every colour. Bold Blue for exploration. Warm Red for warrior spirit. Sunrise Yellow for a new chapter. Summit Silver to honour loyal customers.
"Southwest" appeared on the forward fuselage for the first time ever — in Southwest Sans, a custom typeface built by Monotype from scratch.
The dot in "Southwest.com"? A tiny heart.
Then there's the belly.
Herb Kelleher always said his airline had competitive fire in its belly. So Southwest painted a giant heart on the underside of every aircraft. You can't see it from the gate. You can't see it from the cabin. You can only see it from the ground — looking straight up.
Most airlines disappear into the sky. Southwest made sure you'd never stop looking up.