Southwest’s ‘Independence One’ Makes First Appearance at PIT

Southwest Airlines’ new special livery celebrating America’s 250th anniversary recently made its first visit to Pittsburgh.

On May 2, Southwest’s Independence One arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport as Flight 425 from Fort Myers, Florida, just days after entering service. The aircraft drew attention from Southwest and airport employees, many of whom stopped to take photos and videos.

The aircraft returned to PIT on May 4, operating Flight 1822 from Orlando, Florida, and Flight 1550 to Baltimore.

Independence One commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which established the United States as an independent nation, as well as the 55th anniversary of Southwest’s first flight.

The specially painted Boeing 737 MAX 8 features a large “1776” script on the fuselage, marking the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. The aircraft also carries 13 stars on its fuselage and engines representing the nation’s original 13 colonies on the Betsy Ross flag, along with the phrase “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” referencing the Declaration’s three unalienable rights.

Independence One carries registration N1776R, another nod to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. The registration was previously used by an Overseas National Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-8 that also wore a special America-themed livery during the U.S. bicentennial in 1976.

Independence One officially entered service April 29, operating a flight from Southwest’s hometown airport, Dallas Love Field, to Philadelphia, where both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed.

Independence One joins two other America-themed Southwest aircraft: Freedom One, a Boeing 737-800 carrying registration N500WR that has flown since 2021, and Liberty One, a newly introduced Boeing 737 MAX 8 registered as N8719Q and painted in an American flag theme.

Liberty One also made its first appearance at PIT on April 27 as part of a Dallas-Tampa-Pittsburgh routing on its first day of revenue service. The aircraft remained overnight before departing for St. Louis the following morning.

Independence One, Liberty One and Freedom One can each be tracked on flight tracking site Flightradar24.

Other U.S. carriers are celebrating America’s 250th birthday with special livery aircraft.

American Airlines has an Embraer E175, operated by regional subsidiary Envoy Air, registered N341MB, with America250 fuselage decals, and has plans to add decals to a Boeing 737-800 with the registration N980AN. Public charter carrier JSX Airlines recently unveiled an Embraer E145 named “Freedom 250,” a patriotic livery featuring a deep blue fuselage with sweeping red-and-white stripes and patriotic star accents on the tail.

See photos of Independence One’s May 2 visit on PIT’s Flickr page via the interactive album below.