Air India (AI) on Thursday unveiled its mega brand makeover and new logo, which, the airline said, signifies “limitless possibilities”. AI’s new logo — ‘The Vista’ — includes a modern design with golden, red and purple colours. “It is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame, signifying limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and the airline’s bold, confident outlook for the future,” the company said. It will replace the old logo of a red swan with orange spokes, inspired by the Ashoka Chakra.
The iconic ‘Maharaja’, which has served as Air India’s mascot for decades, will “live on” and continue to “be part of the airline’s journey into the future”, the airline’s MD & CEO Campbell Wilson said, adding “it has been with us for more than 75 years and is loved in India and amongst the Indian community overseas”.
“And we very much want to continue it, especially in local markets and with the Indian diaspora,” he said.
On a specific question about the Maharaja, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said the exercise is as much about acknowledging the past as it is about looking forward to the future. “We respect the past, but we would also have to evolve,” he told FE. “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,” he said.
Chandrasekaran said the group’s aim was to make Air India a world class airline. “We have been at work during the last 15 months and hope to complete the process in the next nine to 12 months. We have ordered one of the largest fleets, but that may take time to arrive,” he said.
The airline’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.
Wilson 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.”
Colours, patterns, shapes and how they come together and what they represent matter, but actions speak so much louder. It is in the midst of a total transformation to reimagine the role of India’s flagship airline, he added.
On the Maharaja, Campbell said the understanding of the Maharaja is not so clear in international markets and beyond the Indian diaspora. “So, we want to take the essence of the Maharaja, the warmth of hospitality service ethic and distil it down not just into the way that we behave, which is going to be part of our DNA, but also in the way that we use it to carry forward some of India’s legacy in a classy and elevated way,” he said.
AI will thus have a stylised gold silhouette of the Maharaja on glassware and fine crockery in premium cabinets to represent India’s history to different market segments.
Designed in partnership with FutureBrand, the logo will be seen on aircraft from December, when Air India’s first Airbus A350 enters the fleet in the new livery. The airline believes that its modern new brand identity and new aircraft livery represent the spirit of a bold new India, marking a significant turning point in its Vihaan.