Meet the all new Air India: New logo, new branding, but yes, the Maharaja stays

Campbell Wilson, CEO and MD, Air India, and N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Group unveil the new livery of the airline at the brand relaunch event. Image: Air India

“Every day, I get a couple of mails, either criticising or complimenting Air India,” said N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group at an event to mark a major milestone in Air India’s journey. “But even in those criticisms, I receive some amount of concern and thought with the question—can you not fix it, can you not get it done faster? And in our attempt to take this criticism with care, I present to you the airline’s new brand identity,” he added. 

The Tata Group-owned airline unveiled a modern and new brand identity and new aircraft livery on August 10, which according to Chandrasekaran is symbolic of a resurgent India.  

The new look reimagines the iconic Indian window shape, historically used by Air India, into a gold window frame, “that denotes a golden window of opportunity,” said Chandrasekaran.  

Titled ‘The Vista’, the new logo symbol, inspired by the peak of the gold window frame, also signifies limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and the airline’s bold outlook for the future, he said.  

“For the past 15 months, we have been at work and we are committed to make this work. Our vision is to make this airline exceptional in terms of the customer service that Air India used to be known for,” he said. “In the past four months, we have put together a strong team to work on the best IT systems, and the best of machine learning and artificial intelligence.”  

The all new Air India likely to be seen in the skies soon. Image: Air India

Designed in partnership with brand transformation company FutureBrand, the brand identity features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, as well as a chakra-inspired pattern.  
Travellers will be able to see the new logo starting December 2023, when Air India’s first Airbus A350 enters the fleet in the new livery.  

And the Maharaja stays. Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO and managing director said, “The rumours of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. The Maharaja will live on and continue to be part of the airline’s journey into the future.”  

The carrier will have a gold silhouette of the Maharaja on crockery and glassware in premium cabinets.  

Also read: The Air India of today isn't the Air India of tomorrow: Campbell Wilson

Among its investments to achieve the new vision, the airline is acquiring 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing at $750 billion with deliveries starting November 2023. The transformation of the fleet has already begun with the airline leasing and buying 20 widebody aircraft this year.

Additionally, a $400 million programme to completely refurbish its 43 widebody aircraft fleet will commence mid-2024, which will include installation of new seats in every cabin, new inflight entertainment systems and inflight Wi-Fi connectivity.  
 
The airline is also working on a new website and a mobile app, and a 24X7 customer contact centre in nine Indian and foreign languages by the end of 2023.  
 
The carrier has also onboarded more than 5,000 new staff including cabin and cockpit crew and is also building an aviation training academy in India.  
 
“Each one of you represent Air India for me. Our commitment is only getting stronger, and we will make this work,” Chandrasekaran said.