A Guide to JetBlue’s Many Tails

Airline sets itself apart with unique aircraft names and designs

By Evan Dougherty

Published August 12, 2019

Read Time: 2 mins

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For JetBlue, a carrier with more than 250 aircraft in its fleet, no two tails are the same.

Founded in 2000, the Long Island-based airline follows a unique practice of designing its aircraft tails with a variety of styles – 24, to be exact.

Each tail design is given a name reflective of its look. “Barcode” consists of closely grouped lines in different shades of blue and orange. “Stripes” resembles JetBlue’s original livery, featuring two simple light blue lines contrasting the predominant dark blue. “Highrise,” the airline’s latest design, shows a pattern of blue and green rectangles depicting windows in a skyscraper.

Other designs include tributes to professional sports teams and the New York police and fire departments.

The various patterns can be seen on any aircraft in JetBlue’s fleet, with the exception of the A321. “Prism” is the name of the tail exclusive to the carrier’s A321 aircraft; the scheme represents “the many facets” of JetBlue’s fleet, according to a fact sheet on the airline’s website.

In addition to a variety of tail styles, each of JetBlue’s aircraft – its fleet consists of Embraer E190 and Airbus A320, A321, and A321neo aircraft — wear special names near their noses that contain the word “blue.” Some are puns, such as “Blue Kid in Town” or “Dream Come Blue.” Others are more simple, like “Bluebird” and “Blue Streak.” And some are jokes, including, “1. Fly JetBlue 2. Repeat Step One” and “New Number, Blue Dis?”

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Here’s a few to look for on Flightradar24.com:

“Blue Kid in Town” – A320 N587JB

“Dream Come Blue” – E190 N267JB

“Bluebird” – A320 N503JB

“Blue Streak” – E190 N265JB

“1. Fly JetBlue 2. Repeat Step One” – A320 N807JB

“How’s My Flying? Call 1-800-JetBlue” – A320 N715JB

“New Number, Blue Dis?” – A321 N995JL

To see all of the designs, click here.

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