Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known as SAS, has unveiled a new livery and “visual identity”.
Changes to the former livery design include the words ‘Scandinavian Airlines’ being replaced by a large silver ‘SAS’ on the fuselage.
The previously red engines are now grey with a blue stripe, and display the word ‘Scandinavian’.
The airline said that the mix of blue, dark grey and silver grey would “flirt with the SAS interior design colour scheme.”
The word “Scandinavian” is now displayed prominently on the belly of the aircraft, in order to provide “clear visual identification from the ground”.
The dark blue on the tail of the plane now extends further downwards.
Next to this three Scandinavian flag colours are displayed.
The livery roll-out will follow SAS’s existing aircraft repainting schedules, which come around every five to six years, as well as with aircraft deliveries.
The entire fleet is set to feature the livery by 2024.
Among the first to display it will be SAS’s new Airbus A350s and A320neos.
The airline is due to take delivery of 80 A320neos and eight A350s before the end of 2023, as well as five A330-300s and three A321LRs.
SAS said it had chosen an ‘advanced’ coating material by Akzonobel which is both more durable and allows fewer layers of colour to be added, reducing aircraft weight.
The airline’s last rebrand was 21 years ago.
On social media it has been sharing images of its retro liveries, including this 1983 design with the distinctive Scandinavian “stripe” across the body:
And its first livery from 1946, with a Viking Longship across the body:
The carrier has faced a turbulent year, with a strike by pilots in Norway, Sweden and Denmark affecting more than a quarter of a million passengers and denting its quarterly profits to April. In 2018 it reported SEK 2 billion (£166m) before tax.
Like many airlines it has been trying to position itself as a leader in sustainable aviation initiatives, partnering with Airbus on work into hybrid electric aircraft and yesterday introducing the option for passengers to pay for biofuels.
