Air India Express – the low cost subsidiary of Air India, a Tata group airline, revealed its brand identity in Mumbai last night. The airline which will soon see AirAsia India merge with itself handled the livery and brand change in a way that dwarfs how big brother Air India did it a few months ago.
The event was attended by select invitees and streamed live over YouTube. The unveiling saw VT-BXA being presented in the new livery at the Air India hanger in Mumbai. The Air India Express rebranding was also handled by Future Brands – the same agency which did the Air India rebranding.
The airline focused on “Fly As You Are”, announcing its intention to differentiate itself by making meaningful connections across places, people and cultures, curating frictionless and digitally enabled travel experiences to provide best-in-class value, offering service with a sense of unique Indian warmth. The airline’s new visual identity features an energetic and premium colour palette of Express Orange and Express Turquoise with Express Tangerine and Express Ice Blue as secondary colours. The dominant Express Orange symbolises Air India Express’s brand values of enthusiasm and agility while reflecting the positioning of quintessential Indian warmth. The Express Turquoise embodies the brand personality traits of style with a contemporary premium sensibility and a digital-first approach.
Continuing with our unique tradition, the aircraft livery will feature a variable tailfin design inspired by the rich art and crafts heritage of the country, themed as ‘The patterns of India’” . The livery of the first new Boeing 737-8 aircraft showcased at the launch, draws inspiration from the Bandhani textile design. The upcoming aircraft being inducted will feature designs inspired by other traditional patterns including Ajrakh, Patola, Kanjeevaram, Kalamkari, etc., showcasing India’s artistic diversity. The airline’s ‘Patterns of India’ theme encapsulates the spirit of the nation and shares its stories through a visual journey. This reaffirms the brand’s position and its commitment to delivering aspirational travel experiences leveraging technology, accessibility, clever design, and an unmistakable sense of Indian hospitality.
While launching the new brand identity, Air India Express also unveiled its new signature sonic identity, a vibrant melody, embodying the essence of a progressive New India filled with aspirations, optimism, and confidence. Air India Express’s distinctive musical logo evokes the Rasas of Karuna, Adbutha, and Veera, a harmonious welcome to the sounds of New India.
As part of the announcement yesterday, the airline informed that it would induct 50 aircraft in the next 15 months and this scale up is where the real test lies beyond the branding and the thoughts which go behind the branding.
Different than big brother
The aircraft (VT-BXA), first of 190 MAX 8 (B737 -8) on order, was unveiled in the new livery at the event. Air India Express had started changing the touchpoints leading up to the event, starting with the website, app and more. The airports also saw a refreshed look and it is being rolled out across airports in the network.
This turns out to be way better managed than Air India’s brand reveal which had no aircraft, the touchpoints are still in old branding and the logo was seen on the YouTube feed before it was formally showcased to the world.
Considering that government run Air India had managed to get an aircraft (double bogey A320) in Star Alliance livery very quickly, having one A321neo painted in the new colours for the unveil should have been possible.
Silent on product
The ceremony yesterday was silent on the product, even as it talked about expanding the network, thoughts around the brand refresh and new planes. This possibly is because of the current aircraft being in dual class configuration and the changes of a considerable number of 50 aircraft coming in the next 15 months being in different configurations and products. Given an option of rapid induction to strengthen market position versus waiting for supply chain issues to soothe, the answer clearly tilts towards rapid expansion. The silence, though, speaks about how the airline themselves may not know when things would settle down.
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