ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Of the 800 aircraft that make up Southwest Airlines’ fleet, only 13 are currently part of their specialty fleet. A handful of planes with eye-catching paint jobs are always a treat to see when they pull into the Albuquerque International Sunport, including one created to honor the many years of service to Albuquerque called New Mexico One.
Corporate Historian for Southwest Richard West said the first plane painted to celebrate the communities the company serves started in November of 1990 with Lone Star One, for Southwest’s home state of Texas. Since then, the company has painted planes highlighting states like California, Colorado, and of course, New Mexico.
New Mexico One made its debut on September 18, 2000. “It was a pretty big event that actually took place out there at the [Sunport], it featured the governor, a lot of different Southwest leaders, and a performance out there in celebration of our service,” said West.
The New Mexico One livery has been taken on by two separate planes. West said the original New Mexico One was a 737-700. “One thing that we do is when aircraft reach the end of their service life, we’ve taken those liveries and moved them onto a new aircraft,” he said. In 2023, Southwest moved the New Mexico One honors to a 737-800 plane. “So last year, New Mexico One actually grew by 19 feet,” West adds.
The process to get one of these paint jobs on a plane can take months from the planning stages to the finished product. West said their most recent addition to the fleet, Imua One, is their most complex paint job to date. “Just everything that went into it to make such a beautiful design come to life, is a lot of fun to see,” West said.
Southwest also honors its heritage with its specialty aircraft. The company’s founder, Herb Kelleher, was celebrated with a brand new 737-8 MAX in November 2022, whose flight registration number, N871HK, features Kelleher’s initials. The plane resembles Southwest’s original livery of Desert Gold.
West said the specialty planes are a ‘Southwest first.’ “..When you rewind back to some of the different things that we’ve tried, particularly in those really visible places like that fuselage of our aircraft lying around, that’s something that we’re really proud of – the fact that we do stand out in a crowd. And it’s something particular our employees and fans of our brand just love to see at the airport,” said West.
Below is a list of state livery planes Southwest Airlines has featured:
Lone Star One (Texas) debuted in 1990
Arizona One debuted in 1994
California One debuted in 1995
Nevada One debuted in 1999
New Mexico One debuted in 2000
Maryland One debuted in 2005
Illinois One debuted in 2008
Florida One debuted in 2010
Colorado One debuted in 2012
Missouri One debuted in 2015
Tennessee Oone debuted in 2016
Louisiana One debuted in 2018
Freedom One (all 50 states) debuted in 2021
Imua One (Hawaii) debuted in 2023
