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After a mid-air collision that killed 49 people, Howard Hughes ordered every plane in the Hughes Airwest fleet painted a bright yellow. The advertising agency, Foote, Cone & Belding, took the eccentric millionaire’s directive in stride and branded the airline “Top Banana in the West.” This wasn’t the first time an airline’s branding elements were inspired by safety; Northwest Airlines’ red tail was originally chosen for visibility.
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There’s something great about this old Super 8 footage of airplanes taxiing and taking off at La Guardia in the 1970s. It features a great many now-defunct airlines in their prime.
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Virgin Atlantic has unveiled a new livery. It’s attractive but nothing revolutionary, and the Virgin script logo remains unchanged. The main difference may be the paint, which apparently has a unique metallic finish which could look very striking. I’m not convinced by the new typography, though. To me, thin, lowercase serifs communicate low-cost, like private-label brands at the grocery store, not pampered luxury. The press release is worth reading if for no other reason than it will probably be the only time you will ever hear an airline described as a “tonic for the soul.”
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My favourite anecdote from Airlines for the Rest of Us, a self-published book about U.S. local airlines by Stan Solomon: Ozark Air Lines purchased its first DC-3s from Parks Airlines. To get the planes up in the air as quickly as possible, workers painted out the P and the S from “PARKS” and added “OZ” to the beginning. By accident, one of the planes was painted with the name “OARK AIRLINES.” The management of the fledgling carrier decided to leave it as it was for several months to prove to the public that the airline owned more than one airplane.
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Sadly Branded Skies launched a couple months too late to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Trans Global Airlines. Congratulations! And remind me to send a thank-you note to Mr. Boeing.
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Aerolineas Argentinas has replaced its old, boring identity with a new, boring identity.
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If only getting your first job in advertising really were this easy. In this spot from the 80s, a young woman flies United to New York—and by the time the plane lands, she’s landed a job at Young & Rubicam (or at least, an agency in the same building.)
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Designer Tyler Thompson redesigned Delta’s boarding pass. The results may not all be completely practical, but they do look lovely. It’s also interesting to see examples of boarding passes that are already branded. Personally, I’d settle for a boarding pass printed on card stock—the flimsy receipts always get crumpled up.
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Mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies—they’ve always been a part of the airline industry, as demonstrated by this family tree from Delta Air Lines, created shortly after the merger with Northwest.
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It turns out yesterday’s JetBlue Experience isn’t the only Experience out there. There’s also The Flagship Experience from American Airlines, created by TM Advertising. Snappy animation—but it lacks JetBlue’s authenticity.