Ben Mutzabaugh

USA TODAY

JetBlue is rolling out a special “RetroJet” livery on one of its Airbus jets Friday.

Dubbed “What’s Old Is Blue Again,” JetBlue says the A320 features “a one-of-a-kind paint scheme designed to celebrate the iconic jet age of air travel and to highlight JetBlue’s innovative style.”

What makes this retro livery unusual is that JetBlue is a relatively new airline, having inaugurated service just in 2000. Since JetBlue did not have a decades-old “retro” look of its own, the New York-based company had to be creative in coming up with the special paint scheme that is being unveiled Friday.

To do that, JetBlue says it “dug into an archive of popular logos and notable companies from the mid-1960s to essentially reverse-engineer the JetBlue brand and envision what the customer-friendly carrier of today might have looked like some five decades ago.”

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JetBlue describes the design details by saying:

"The aircraft design features bold JetBlue orange and blue ‘speed stripes’ down the length of the Airbus A320, a popular characteristic of 1960s aircraft paint schemes. Above the window line ‘JetBlue Airways’ is printed in a font consistent with the types of typeface widely used in the time period. And because today JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline, the words ‘New York International’ accompany the airline’s name. But perhaps most notable is the aircraft tail. Absent is a simple airline logo or icon. Instead, JetBlue’s RetroJet tail features three colors and a lively 1960s jazz-inspired font that would have stood out among other airlines of the time. It’s a jet age take on JetBlue’s hallmark tails of today."

JetBlue is debuting the special livery on a Friday trip from New York JFK to Palm Springs, Calif. The flight marks the resumption of the airline's seasonal service on that route.

JetBlue is sending off the RetroJet livery with a special ceremony at JFK that will include former TWA flight attendants modeling “original uniforms from various eras of air travel at TWA.” The TWA theme is a nod not only to the broader retro motif, but also to the iconic 1962 TWA Flight Center building that remains standing at JFK adjacent to JetBlue’s Terminal 5.

The crew on Friday’s flight will wear retro uniforms that feature hats, scarves, ties and pins unique to the flight. Customers on the season’s first JFK-Palm Springs round trip will get special retro amenity kits.

“The Palm Springs route was selected because of the desert destination’s mid-century modern architecture and style. Greater Palm Springs has experienced a comeback by blending its nostalgic past as a playground for Hollywood with hip new development attracting a new generation of trendy travelers,” JetBlue explains in its statement.

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