Orange, red, and turquoise: Air India Express livery to colour the skies

Air India's new livery and logo incorporate the outer pane of a 'jharokha', a classic ornate Indian window

The new logo and livery of Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, are likely to sport colours such as orange, red, and turquoise, multiple persons aware of the development have told Business Standard.

“Our low-cost carrier’s livery will be brighter than that of Air India,” a Tata Group official noted.

Air India had on August 10 unveiled its new logo and aircraft livery, featuring red, gold, and violet.

Air India’s new livery and logo have the outer pane of “jharokha”, which is a classic ornate Indian window. Air India Express’s livery and logo will also have upper edges of this traditional window frame, according to persons aware of the matter.

FutureBrand, which designed the logo and livery of Air India, is doing it for Air India Express too, they added.

Tata Group-run AirAsia India and Air India Express have 28 and 26 planes in their respective fleets. AirAsia India is in the process of being completely merged into Air India Express. The merged entity will be the single low-cost airline subsidiary of full-service airline Air India.

Air India’s recently launched logotype has been written in custom-made Air India Sans font. Air India Express’s logotype is also likely to use Air India Sans font, a source said.

The airline did not respond to queries sent by Business Standard on this matter.

“A creative agency will be hired by Air India Express to do additional work related to new branding. The modern look using orange, red and turquoise is expected to stand out,” the source noted. The new logo and livery are expected to be unveiled by Air India Express by the end of this year, the source added.

Malaysia-based AirAsia Group had on November 2 last year exited AirAsia India by selling its remaining 16.67 per cent stake to Air India for Rs 156 crore.

AirAsia Group had then said that AirAsia India could use the “AirAsia” brand name for 12 months. This means that by October-end, AirAsia will have to be merged into Air India Express.

Last month, the Ministry of Civil Aviation gave its nod to AirAsia India to operate under the brand name of Air India Express.

“We have already removed AirAsia’s name from half the airline’s fleet. It will be done for the rest in a couple of months,” a person aware of the development said. 

In February, Air India ordered 470 planes: 250 with European aircraft maker Airbus and 220 with Boeing. This order is the world’s second-largest single-tranche aircraft purchase. The Boeing order consists of 190 B737 MAX, 20 B787s, and 10 B777s. Fifty of the 190 Max planes ordered are expected to join Air India Express’s fleet by December next year.