Tata Group’s budget carrier Air India Express will soon receive a new logo and livery while retaining its tail art culture.
Same brand working on redesigning main airline
Air India unveiled its new brand identity last week as part of its transformation journey.
It had roped in Futurebrands, a London-based design consultancy firm to take over the rebranding process.
It finally unveiled the airline’s new colors: deep red, aubergine, and gold.
The writing features a new ‘Air India Sans’ font, with the plane widow edge getting a new design which transforms to ‘The Vista’ logo, which is a mix of old and new, retaining the color palette.
AI’s new logo
The new logo includes a modern design with golden, red and purple colors.
It is set to replace the old logo of a red swan and orange spokes inside the swan, inspired by the Ashoka Chakra.
Dubbed the Vista, the new logo symbol is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame and stands for limitless possibilities, progress, and the airline’s bold, confident outlook for the future, the company said.
“The new logo that you see here today… the vista signified by that historically used window (the peak of the golden window signifies limitless possibilities, progress, confidence and all of it,” said Chandrasekaran.
“The new look reimagines the iconic Indian window shape, historically used by Air India, into a gold window frame that becomes central to the new brand design system – symbolising a ‘Window of Possibilities’,” added the airline.
Distinct identity
“Future Brand, the company that designed Air India’s new logo, is involved in the rebranding of Air India Express. We have a unique identity when it comes to tail art that beautifully displays India’s art and culture.
Under the rebranding, the tail art will be retained but in a new way,” said an airline official.
It will get a new design to distinguish it from Air India, all the while retaining old design elements to present them in a fresh way.
The rebranding will take place in a phased manner.
“At present, we can’t disclose much regarding the font, color, or tail art as it is under process. We are budget carriers and have economy class only, so there won’t be any color scheme like we have seen on Air India,” he added.
Tailfin gets fresh look
Coming back to Air India Express, the tail of every one of its planes will be redesigned.
The tail art enjoys popularity as it depicts different designs inspired by the art and culture of India.
Sources shared that given that AI Express is a budget carrier and has never had a mascot, it will not be receiving a new one.
Public acceptance
Public reception to the new look has been mixed, however it is still too early to tell since it is yet to be seen on Air India aircraft.
Ashwani Sharma, Vice-Chairman of the Aeronautical Society of India and a former Air India official commented, “While the new logo, livery and interiors may have caused quite a stir on social and mainstream media, unless the airline prioritises on-time performance and overcoming several operational challenges, they will find it hard to create a new customer base.
While the new logo, livery and interiors may have caused quite a stir on social and mainstream media, unless the airline prioritises on-time performance and overcoming several operational challenges, they will find it hard to create a new customer base.”
New fleet to get new look
Air India Express is in the process of finalising which aircraft to debut its new livery on.
Since it operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet, chances are high that it could opt for one of AirAsia India’s Airbus A320 to reveal its new look.
Travelers will get a glimpse of the main airline’s new logo from December 2023, when Air India’s first Airbus A350 enters the fleet with the new livery.
