Tata Sons-owned Air India unveiled its new logo and livery on Thursday, which will be timed with the delivery of the brand new A350 aircraft in December 2023.
Air India said the new brand identity and new aircraft livery "captures the essence of a bold new India". This marks a milestone in its Vihaan.AI transformation.
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’, said Air India in a statement.
"Air India’s new logo symbol - ‘The Vista’ - is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame, signifying limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and the airline’s bold, confident outlook for the future," said Air India.
Air India’s brand-new aircraft livery and design features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, as well as a chakra-inspired pattern. It also boasts a striking new custom-made ‘Air India Sans’ font, marrying confidence with warmth to position Air India as premium, inclusive, and accessible.
Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO & MD, said: “Our transformative new brand reflects an ambition to make Air India a world class airline serving guests from around the globe, and that represents a new India proudly on the global stage. The new Air India is bold, confident, and vibrant, but also warm and deeply rooted to its rich history and traditions that make Indian hospitality a global benchmark for standards in service.”
"Air India is a passion, big national mission. Our aim is to make this airline a truly world class airline that every Indian will be proud of. Fully committed on this journey until we make this happen sooner," said Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.
"Our vision is to make this airline world class in terms of safety. Air India requires a lot of work in technology, fleet, maintenance, ground handling and we are focusing on upgrading all Human Resources aspects in the airline.
"We have made a largest fleet order in narrow and wide body and it will take some time to deliver those. Aim is to have best technology in the next 9-12 months. Will have best of machine learning in Air India," said Chandrasekaran.
"Designed in partnership with the brand transformation company, FutureBrand, the iconic new brand identity combines Air India’s glorious past with its drive to aim for excellence and innovate for the future, creating a standout brand design for a premium global airline with an Indian heart," said Air India.
Travellers will begin to see the new logo throughout their journey starting December 2023, when Air India’s first Airbus A350 enters the fleet in the new livery.
“Colours, patterns, shapes and how they come together and what they represent matter, but our actions speak so much louder. We are in the midst of a total transformation to reimagine the role of India’s flagship airline”, Wilson said.
"We have updated the Maharaja slightly, made him a little bit more fit. We have made certain changes, to represent it in a way more classic way," Wilson told BT TV.
Prasoon Joshi-led McCann World-group India had won the advertising and marketing communications mandate for Air India. Air India returned to the Tata group, its original founder, after 69 years.
Tata Sons had acquired a 100 per cent stake in loss-making Air India on January 27, 2022, through its fully owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited. Later, it announced that Air India and Vistara will be merged into one entity, which is estimated to be completed by March 2024. Singapore Airlines will have a 25 per cent stake in the newly merged entity.
Apart from this, Air India Express and Air Asia India will also be merged to create a single low-cost carrier airline.
In April 2023, an internal communication from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson stated that Air India will unveil a whole range of new services, such as a new color scheme, cabin interiors, crew uniforms, and insignia as part of a rebranding process.
In June, Air India signed the purchase agreements with Airbus and Boeing for its mammoth 470-aircraft order announced in February, with deliveries of the new aircraft starting November this year. The purchase agreements for the two orders–worth $70 billion by the aircraft’s list price–were signed on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show.
Air India’s firm orders include 34 A350-1000, six A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and 10 Boeing 777X wide-body aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo, and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrow-body aircraft.
Apart from the 470 planes that make up the firm order, Air India will have options to buy another 370 planes – 300 from Airbus and 70 from Boeing.
"The transformation of Air India’s fleet has already begun with the airline leasing and buying 20 widebody aircraft this year. A $400 million programme to completely refurbish the interiors of its legacy fleet of 43 widebody aircraft commences mid-2024, which will lead to the installation of brand-new seats in every cabin, new inflight entertainment systems, and inflight Wi-Fi internet connectivity. By March 2024, 33% of the airline’s widebody fleet will be upgraded, and over the next two-and-a-half years, its entire long-haul fleet will be reborn," said Air India.
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