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Branding of Airlines

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INTRODUCTION
In a consumer world that is ruled by brand names, it has never been more important for an airline to have the right public image. If the national flag and perhaps a catchy logo on planes, counters and ticket covers were sufficient in the olden days, today branding is a science of its own.
Half a dozen branding agencies, most of them based in London and the USA, are fighting not just on behalf of toothpaste or cars but, with dogged determination, in the aviation industry over budgets worth millions. "The airlines are much more conscious today that branding can be a question of survival," says David Davis of the Future Brand agency. It is not just a matter of appearing attractive to one’s own staff and one’s customers. With …show more content…

Finally in the spring of 2000 Bob Ailing was himself thrown overboard along with his ethnic concept after

only half the fleet had been transformed. The new Chief Executive, Rod Eddington, is now having all the aircraft one by one repainted with the stylized national flag fluttering in the wind, as the tail assembly art gallery sadly bites the dust. Designer Piers Schmidt, who was involved in the project, explains, "It didn’t work because the culture and product development within BA had not gone far enough to fulfill the expectations aroused along with the design. They changed the packaging but not the underlying concept."
On the other hand sometimes a new corporate image has produced quite tangible benefits for an airline. When Landor introduced the new white fuselage at Federal Express to replace the former mauve-coloured paintwork, the corporation’s fuel costs fell significantly because the on-board air conditioning did not need to be used so much on the ground. Southwest Airlines introduced new

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