# What is the American Airlines logo supposed to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628 "2008-07-07T23:20:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/1 "2008-07-07T23:20:57Z")
As seen [here](http://cache.consumerist.com/assets/images/consumerist/2008/07/americanairlinestail.jpg). I just now realized that my prior assumption, that it’s a strange, stylized, negative-space-only depiction of some sort of [ribbon](http://www.fenwickfriars.com/images/red_ribbon.jpg) is probably not correct. I realized that because I began to wonder why the hell an airline would have such a depiction of a ribbon as their logo. But what is it? I can’t really see anything in it. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/2 "2008-07-07T23:24:43Z")
It’s an eagle, between the two As. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/3 "2008-07-07T23:25:25Z")
It’s a strange, stylized depiction of a bird, probably an eagle. You can see the talons, the head, and the tail, as well as the control feathers at the trailing edges of the wings. And two big _A_s, but I figured you got that part. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/4 "2008-07-07T23:32:35Z")
A bald eagle, to be specific, a popular icon of American culture. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/5 "2008-07-08T00:28:53Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] It’s a strange, stylized depiction of a bird, probably an eagle. You can see the talons, the head, and the tail, as well as the control feathers at the trailing edges of the wings. [/quote] Okay, I’m an idiot, but…where? Is the head supposed to be the white bit at the bottom? I just don’t see it. > [@](#): > > And two big _A_s, but I figured you got that part. 🙂 Indeed, my finely-honed senses did pick up on that. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/6 "2008-07-08T00:35:53Z")
The white space is the space between the head/nose and the leg foot. Left of the white space is the head, pointing down with nose, and a slight white eye. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/7 "2008-07-08T00:42:31Z")
[QUOTE=NinjaChick] Okay, I’m an idiot, but…where? Is the head supposed to be the white bit at the bottom? I just don’t see it. [/QUOTE] Look for the white dot inside the blue part at the bottom left. That’s the eagle’s eye, with the beak below and the talons to the right of that. I think the idea is that the eagle is supposed to be in mid-dive, which has always struck me as rather an odd pose for an airline to use for its logo. And again, the key word here is _stylized_. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/8 "2008-07-08T00:48:41Z")
[It evolved from this.](http://www.silentthundermodels.com/t-shirts/images/aa_logo_lb.jpg) [And this.](http://www.silentthundermodels.com/signs/images/ar002.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/9 "2008-07-08T01:15:18Z")
[![](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2395235881_92174a1d1d.jpg?v=0) ](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2395235881_92174a1d1d.jpg?v=0) That’s a larger picture, actually from an American Eagle plain, but that airline is a regional subsidiary of American Airlines, and it is essentially the same logo. The different colours on this one might help you see the bird there. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/10 "2008-07-08T01:55:21Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] [![](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2395235881_92174a1d1d.jpg?v=0) ](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2395235881_92174a1d1d.jpg?v=0) That’s a larger picture, actually from an American Eagle plain, but that airline is a regional subsidiary of American Airlines, and it is essentially the same logo. The different colours on this one might help you see the bird there. [/QUOTE] Oh, my gosh, thank you. I see it in that one. Well, that little bit of the world makes a hell of a lot more sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-american-airlines-logo-supposed-to-be/455628/11 "2008-07-08T03:19:00Z")
This one should make it perfectly clear, if no other did. [Clearly an eagle](http://www.thetriforce.com/newblog/wp-content/american%20airlines%20logo.gif)