By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As a freshly decorated red, white and blue US Airways jet taxied at the Pittsburgh International Airport yesterday, one tarmac worker gave the new paint job a stern thumbs down -- reflecting the beleaguered pessimism of a twice-bankrupt airline.

But the retooled design, unveiled yesterday for the first time, also urges employees to think of happier times, when the carrier wasn't US Airways or even USAir but Allegheny Airlines, Pacific Southwest Airlines and Piedmont Airlines.

The US Airways predecessor carriers of the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s are all a part of the new look, with their logos gracing the side of each newly painted plane, near the door.

There will also be four "throwback" planes, each featuring the original colors and tail designs. A smile wraps around the nose of a red-and-orange Pacific Southwest plane, homage to PSA's California-inspired motto: "Our Smiles Are Not Just Painted On."