Archive for August, 2010

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Rhapsody in Blue (and Gold)

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

In one of the strangest examples of the Chinese menu approach United and Continental are taking to their new brand, the new company will keep using George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as its theme music. United first licensed Rhapsody in Blue in 1987 for $300,000 a year.

That’s quite a bit of money to spend on music. Yet United has invested even more in attaching Rhapsody in Blue to its brand. You hear it in commercials, on the plane, in airports; one company says it has created more than 50 different versions of the piece in genres ranging from jazz to rock to country. Rhapsody in Blue is as integral to United’s brand as its tulip logo designed by Saul Bass.

Which is funny, because of course that tulip logo is on the way out while Rhapsody in Blue remains. (more…)

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Maintenance

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Some of the best parts of Airliners International 2010, apart from everything else, were the tours. One of them was a tour of Continental Airlines’ maintenance facility at Newark.

I don’t know anything about airplanes, really, and most of the tour sailed way over my head. But I did take some pictures, since I don’t think I’ll have a similar opportunity any time soon. So if you see these pictures and you know anything about them, post something in the comments!

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Tropes: We have a plane!

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Every kind of advertising has—well, let’s call them “conventions.” Airline advertising is no different. This is part of a series of posts on the clichés of airline advertising.

We have a plane! It has windows! It has a tail! And a nose! And it has our name on it! And it has a door too! And engines! And stairs! And look! People fly on it! We have a plane!

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A great day for New York City

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Image of the new Terminal 4Yesterday was a great day for New York City.

If you want proof, watch this video of the press conference announcing Delta’s expansion of Terminal 4. You’ll see one mayor, one governor, one congressman, three state legislators, one city council speaker, one borough president, one Port Authority executive director, one company president, one head of the tourism board, one CEO, and the Dutch minister of transport, public works, and water management.

And they all agree that, as far as days for New York City go, yesterday was pretty swell. (more…)

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Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Good news! United and Continental have announced slight changes to their new, merged identity, including a new logo and new livery. Bad news! The new typography is not much better; in fact, the type appears to be stretched. Couldn’t they use the type from United’s existing identity?

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Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Brand New reviews the updated Virgin Atlantic identity. The post includes a time-lapse video of the plane being repainted—it seems every livery update these days is accompanied by a similar time-lapse video. The next installment of “Tropes,” perhaps?

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Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

A couple months ago I posted a family tree for Delta Air Lines. Now Dan Webb’s blog has a similar tree for the new United Airlines, assuming the merger with Continental will be approved. (via Airline Reporter)

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Monday, August 9th, 2010

After yesterday’s post about sex in airline ads, this is… well, the opposite. Apparently BOAC hired its pilots based on the plumminess of their accents. Jolly good!

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Tropes: Sex

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Every kind of advertising has—well, let’s call them “conventions.” Airline advertising is no different. This is part of a series of posts on the clichés of airline advertising.

Last month, the Flight Attendants Association of Australia vowed to take the Russian airline AviaNova to the International Transport Federation over an ad the low-cost carrier recently produced. The ad depicts the airline’s unusual (and, let’s be honest, pretty inefficient) method for washing its planes. In a shameless play for more visitors, I include that video below:

(more…)

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Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Need a pocket guide to help identify the world’s airlines? Airline Finder is an iPhone app with illustrations of more than 700 airline liveries. You can sort by name, country, or tail colour. (via Flying with Fish)

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