Retro livery
Herbert D. Kelleher desert gold livery
A Southwest 737 MAX 8 in the retro desert gold livery, named for co-founder Herb Kelleher. The tail number combines June 18, 1971 and his initials.
Since Oct 2022 · Confirmed Sep 28, 2026
Airframe story
N871HK is a Boeing 737-8, serial 67775, delivered to Southwest Airlines Co in 2022 and registered to the carrier in Texas since November 17, 2022. Snippet sources describe it as a tribute aircraft honoring Herbert D. Kelleher, one of Southwest's co-founders, and note it was ferried from Boeing Field to Phoenix on November 15, 2022. It shares this kind of tribute livery distinction with sister aircraft N872CB, known as "Heroine of the Heart," delivered the same year to honor former Southwest President Colleen Barrett. In the most recent observed year, N871HK logged 1,686 flights and 2,681.9 hours between October 2025 and October 2026, flying alongside several sister ships from the same production block, serials 67773 through 67779, all still registered to Southwest Airlines and flying comparably busy schedules.
Livery guess: Desert Gold retro livery honoring Herbert D. Kelleher. A PlaneLogger snippet ties N871HK to a ferry flight in the special Desert Gold livery, and a separate snippet identifies it as a Kelleher tribute aircraft.
448 Boeing 737-8 are in the FAA records; 425 still registered; 424 flew in the last year. Most sit with Southwest Airlines Co (207) and Umb Bank Na Trustee (58).
From the FAA registry and observed flights. Inferences are labeled; outside facts are cited.