I was going to set up a thread for TUI/Thomson Airways, but thought it would be worth going in here.

Sitting in Rhodes airport last week, the design of the departure lounges mean you can see the aircraft on the runway.

The eldest explained which plane he wanted to get on, based on the new colour scheme.

He isn't daft and is just about to start in yr 8 at Comp - having flown on a Dreamliner earlier this year, the bar has been raised.

I explained that it was probably an old plane, that had been refurbished inside and out - just like the buses back home.

He seemed to accept this and eventually we got the call to go through and board the bus across the apron.

Inside, it was pretty much the same as the aircraft (737) we had flown from Newcastle on.
The pitch was decent and there was a light colour scheme, which changed when a member of the crew used the touch screen computer located near the cockpit.

If this was an old aircraft, it had quite a refurb! Not just a seat recovering and a new blue floor.

Getting off, I made a note of the registration and sure enough, it was an aircraft which was only two years old.
Obviously I told him this and got the 'See, I told you it was new' line from him, which was expected.

Anyway, the point of the ramble was to highlight how easy it is to tell a refurbed bus, from a new one - simply by looking at the reg plate (which identifies the year of registration) and how easy it is for a non-enthusiast to do so.

As for aircraft, well unless you know and recognise the identifiers, Google is your friend and often the only way to determine an approximate age.
A few licks of paint, refitting of the internal kit and an engine refurb - passengers are generally none the wiser.

I wont touch on the 'new' Rivet Joint aircraft the MOD purchased from the Americans - cos that blows my theory right out of the water!