Air India has today unveiled its new aircraft livery as part of a new brand identity that “captures the essence of a bold new India”.
The new livery, designed in partnership with FutureBrand, features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, along with a chakra-inspired pattern and a custom-made ‘Air India Sans’ font.
The Star Alliance carrier has reimagined its signature window frame motif with metallic gold colouring as a central part of the design, to symbolise “a window of possibilities”. This features on the tailfin, wingtip and underbelly – as well as inspiring the new font type.
Air India’s new logo – ‘The Vista’ – is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame, and signifies “limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and the airline’s bold, confident outlook for the future”.
In addition to the window frame design, the colourful tailfin also sports a Jaali (latticed screen) pattern, inspired by the chakra from the original logo.
The engines have been painted in a bold red, with gold tips to continue the window frame theme, while the belly of the aircraft has also been painted red and emblazoned with the new Air India typography to enable it to be recognised from below when flying at low altitude.
Passengers will get a chance to see the new design from December, when Air India’s first Airbus A350 enters the fleet sporting the new livery.
Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO and 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.”
The new livery is part of a total brand upgrade for the Tata Group-owned airline, referred to as the five-year “Vihaan.AI” transformation, with an ambition to become “a world class airline with an Indian heart”.
So far, this has included the launch of a new Air India website and mobile app.
In February, the airline announced a record order of 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing in deals worth US$70 billion (at list prices), with deliveries of the new aircraft due in November this year.
Still to come is a US$400 million programme to refurbish the entire widebody fleet, starting in 2024. This will include the installation of new seats in every cabin, new inflight entertainment systems, and inflight wifi connectivity. A third of the fleet will have been upgraded by March 2024, with the full programme due to be complete by the end of 2026.
The carrier has also said it will be completely revamping its loyalty programme in early 2024 to “enable thousands of new redemption possibilities”.
The airline is also investing in new lounges at Delhi and New York JFK airports, as part of a global lounge expansion programme.
Currently Air India serves 27 countries and is continuing its global expansion with new routes to Gatwick, Amsterdam and resuming flights to Copenhagen. It also plans to serve Delhi to Dhaka, and Mumbai to Paris and Frankfurt in the future.
