Air India Finally Takes Off with Refreshed Livery and Brand Identity

Since the Tata Group took over the airline, there had been much speculation about its rebranding, which came to an end. Mr. N. Chandrasekharan, the Chairman of Tata Group, revealed the logo and livery on Thursday in New Delhi. This significant step marks a massive milestone for Air India in its transformation plan called ‘Vihaan.ai’.

The Indian flag carrier now has an all-new logo, a refreshed livery and revamped cabin interiors. Tata Group hired FutureBrand, a London-based brand design company, to transform Air India from scratch, which they delivered.

‘The Vista’ Logo 

Historically, the Indian window frame design called ‘jharokha’ has been used by Air India on all its aircraft since 1971. This design has now been used to create the new logo, ‘The Vista’. As described by Mr. Chandrasekaran, this new logo symbolizes a ‘window of limitless possibilities’, signifying the airline’s future vision and its roots in India’s rich history and culture. 

A bold, modern-looking, and yet Indian culture-resembling font called ‘Air India Sans’ has been used in red for the words’ Air India’. These are adorned by the peak of the golden window on the top right.

Air India’s iconic mascot, ‘The Maharaja,’ is here to stay. Now, he has an all-new look, wearing his uniform in new colors. 

The New Livery

Boeing 787-9 in the new Air India livery (Photo: Air India)

Air India’s fresh livery retains the bright red letterings on the aircraft but in a new typeface and a larger scale, covering the front half of the fuselage. Just like its sister airline Vistara, this new livery has Air India written on the underbelly on a red patch, along with a golden frame inspired by the logo.

The tail of the aircraft will feature the logo frames in red, gold, and a dash of purple with an intricate design. The tip of the same pattern will be replicated on the aircraft’s wingtips. The engines will be painted red and wrapped around by a thin golden band towards the front.

The majority of the aircraft’s surface will be painted white along with these changes. Airlines that have undergone a rebranding recently, such as Gulf Air, Lufthansa, and Brussels Airlines, tend to keep their new liveries minimal, reducing maintenance costs and damage to the aircraft by direct sunlight.

The first aircraft expected to be painted in the new livery is an Airbus A350-900, which will enter the fleet in December 2023.

Future Ready Cabins

Air India’s CEO, Mr. Campbell Wilson, introduced new seating for the fleet’s ‘legacy’ long-haul aircraft. These older aircraft in the fleet include 13 Boeing 777-300ERs and 27 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners.

In the short video unveiled on Thursday, we see what these aircraft will be refurbished to in the next few years, starting from mid-2024. The aircraft sported four classes onboard that were completely redesigned in collaboration with London-based companies JPA Design and Trendworks.

First Class will have a golden-brown color scheme with four fully private, lie-flat seats and a ton of additional features, and the aubergine-colored Business Class suites feature privacy doors too. Towards the rear of the aircraft, newer, more ergonomic, highly dense premium economy and economy seats will be available. 

Keeping in mind that these new cabins will only feature on the refurbished aircraft, the airline did not comment on the cabin interior of the newer long-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A350-900, which are due to be received during the end of the year with ex-Aeroflot cabins.

Besides these cabins, Mr. Campbell also talked about the new inflight entertainment, featuring tons of movies and TV shows from India and worldwide.

What Does the Future Hold?

This week’s reveal marked a massive transformational milestone for Air India. The airline will subsequently update its website, app, and social media with the new brand identity.

As the airline prepares to induct its first Airbus A350-900 in late 2023, several Boeing 777s have been leased to increase its capacity in the short term. Five of these are ex-Delta Boeing 777-200LRs, which the airline has already received. Air India has yet to receive three former Singapore Airlines and five former Etihad Airways 777-300ERs.

This transformational project is the first of its kind to happen in Indian aviation.