( CNN ) -- The designs painted on planes help distinguish one airline from another , using colors that promote and represent the brands . But with frequent mergers and acquisitions in the industry over recent years , traffic in and out of paint shops has increased to keep planes updated with new airline identities . The latest to emerge from a respray , covering the remnants of bankruptcy , is American Airlines . US Airways and American Airlines will form the largest airline in the world by passenger numbers , worth an estimated $ 11 billion . The new company will retain the American Airlines name , but it will have up to 73 aircraft repainted by the end of this year to reflect its new branding . The former look of its planes features a silver , bare-metal finish with a red , white and blue stripe running along the body , its iconic logo of an eagle and double A adorning the tailfins . The new design covers the planes in silver paint and puts stripes on the tail . `` It brings American into the Apple age with its nice reflective coating , '' says Sudeep Ghai , a strategist with Athena Aviation , and airline management consulting firm . `` I think where there are challenges are perhaps some of the brand mark elements that have been left behind , which have been around for 40 years , '' Ghai says , referring to the airline 's logo , which has been radically changed . In recent years , the six major U.S. carriers have consolidated into three . Northwest Airlines was completely absorbed when it merged with Delta in 2008 . Two years later , Continental merged with United . With each merger , airlines must choose carefully which parts of brands to hold onto . In the case of Continental and United , the newly formed company kept Continental 's distinctive logo of a yellow globe . `` They did a very sensible thing , actually . They retained the United name -- the more recognized name worldwide -- with the Continental logo , '' says Willie Walsh , the CEO of International Airlines Group , the parent company of British Airways . `` And I think that was meant to bring the Continental people into the business . There 's a sense of inclusiveness , which I think was a smart move . '' There are instances of companies getting the rebranding wrong , Walsh says , like the unpopular tailfin designs on British Airways planes in the late 1990s . `` But out of that came something fantastic : the Chatham flag , the livery that we have on our aircraft today , '' he says . Acquisitions and the new coats of paint that often follow have been cropping up across Europe , too . After IAG bought the airline British Midland International from Lufthansa last year , dozens of BMI 's planes needed to be repainted to reflect its new branding , a process that used around 750 liters of spray paint per plane . Meanwhile , Lufthansa is getting ready to relaunch Germanwings , a low-cost airline that it acquired in 2009 . Part of the preparations involves repainting the fleet in the new Germanwings livery , which incorporates colors that signify Lufthansa 's ownership . `` We decided we needed a fresh approach . And what you see in our new livery is Lufthansa 's yellow colors and our raspberry colors , '' says Thomas Winkelmann , the CEO of Germanwings . And passengers can expect more fresh paint jobs ahead , as the flailing airline industry continues to see mergers as a way to strengthen businesses . `` It happens on a slow-drip basis , '' Walsh said , `` but I think we 'll see more consolidation , and I think the industry recognizes that it is a positive development . ''
Consolidation of airlines has led to name and logo changes . American Airlines latest of established airlines to repaint its fleet . Airlines must choose carefully which parts of merged brands to hold on to . 750 liters of paint needed to respray a Boeing 777 .