Want to fly the jingoistic skies? Look no further than American Airlines, whose parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2011, but which revealed today a new, vaguely patriotic design with an angular logo that keeps the eagle but adds white to its red, white, and blue color profile (see the before-and-after above), along with a new typeface (which appears to be a modified version of Lina), and a fleet of freshly repainted passenger jets — all of which are now decorated with American flag-style stripes. This is what they look like:

The airline also has introduced yet another "Snow Fall"-style website and documented its design process in a YouTube video, during which an employee explains that the new logo is "about capturing the spirit of America ... just really focusing on brightness and optimism."

Despite its latest blatant appeal to patriotism, AA has long been sensitive to complaints about its logo (which hasn't changed since 1968) and especially its website: in 2009 it fired an IT employee who contacted a web developer named Dustin Curtis who had, in his spare time, mocked up a new and much better-looking web interface for AmericanAirlines.com:

AA searched their exchange database for the text I posted, found the guy, and fired [the IT employee] on the spot. From what I have learned, they also threatened him with legal action if he spoke to me again. Apparently he broke his non-disclosure agreement by discussing the design process at AA.

Here's the behind-the-scenes video about the process, featuring a number of employees who have not been fired:

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jtrotter at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
J.K. Trotter