As a little kid I had a dream of becoming an airplane engineer. I wanted to build those beautiful machines so much that in one period of time it almost got possible, when my parents started to get info about this high school in France that had courses of that kind. And then the war came… However, this will most likely be the most wonderful set of logos we had so far. So much power and beauty in these and it’s hard to even pick a few that should get a face lift soon. By the way, Lufthansa is one of the Top3 logos of all times to me and not just the logo but the whole branding system developed around that story. Those guys are in a lot of trouble at the moment so let’s just wish them the best of luck and a fast recovery. Now, very interesting analysis could be the one of the inspirational elements those companies use: some go with the national symbols and colors, some use birds and other flying animals, some even use other kind of animals, some go with the shapes of airplanes or airplane parts and some just offer graphic shapes that could resemble the movement and dynamics of air travel. What also makes me happy is the eased down domination of red-blue approach with a lot of interesting color schemes and original colors such as gold or purple. Making these logos is definitely a hard job, being usually restricted by the shape of the airplane and it’s tail but some companies decided to achieve the higher level of visual impression by breaking the barriers of that limitation.
So, should any of those re-brand? Feel free to comment on them, pick out your favorites, add links of some logos that also deserve to be in this company or do something even more crazy – tell us what would YOU change here to make them maybe more original and interesting. Enjoy!
Twitter: dominic_87
To be honest I never really take a closer look at airtraveling logos… maybe cause I dont fly that often. A lot of appealing ones in your list. And I guess I finally found a logo where a dropshadow really is useful! (Austrian)
Twitter: dominic_87
In case someone is interested in Qantas rebranding:
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/the_kangaroo_with_more_power.php
Twitter: timothymarshall
The logo for Austrian is great! Is that supposed to be a paper airplane? Even if not, I will gladly assume it is.
Twitter: aoikath
Think there’s something really pleasant with Cathay Pacific’s logo. Also I like the Thai’s logo (not a fan of their service though)
Dominic, Timothy, K, thank you all!
Twitter: AnthonyLane
I would fly Hawaiian any time; such a nice looking design. I also think Delta is spot on as well.
Thanks Anthony, 2 totally opposite solutions by style yet both work pretty fine. And let me just share my thoughts on Brussels Airlines – very clever logo with a letter B shaped out of the take off/air field lights with a nice perspective suggesting the volume and space.
IMHO Qantas stands head and shoulders above all of these. An overused Australian Symbol freshly and brilliantly executed. Lovely balance of logomark and logotype even though they seem to go in different directions.
And having flown with Qantas I can verify their service is as good as their branding.
The mexicana also deserves a special mention.
Thanks for sharing Paul. Mexicana is one of the freshest re-brands in this field, very nice, I agree.
Twitter: Houstonwe
My top3 of these would be:
1. Hawaiian
2. Icelandair
3. Qantas
Really good list, most of the logos that are in here, are pretty enjoyable.
The ones that I really dislike are KLM and Alitalia.
Great!