 "Air India Maharaja")
The Tata Group is planning to change the iconic Maharaja mascot, which has long been a part of the identity of Air India, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. The change of the brand mascot is part of Air India's larger brand revamp strategy, which was started last year.
A person aware of the development told the newspaper that Air India aspires to become the carrier of choice for people flying in and out of India. A large number of passengers are expected to be business travellers and corporate executives who may not connect with Maharaja, who wears a turban and has a large moustache on his face.
Air India and the Maharaja
The Maharaja mascot was created by Bobby Kooks in 1946 when he managed the airline's operations as Air India's commercial director.
Currently, no-modern day airline has a mascot representing its brand, the person cited above told ET.
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What will happen to the iconic Maharaja?
While the mascot may become a thing of the past, its name is likely to be used in the lounges in airports and for business class cabins on board. Air India has given the job of redrawing its branding strategy to a London-based brand and design consultancy firm, FutureBrand, the report stated.
Previously, FutureBrand has reinvented the branding for American Airlines and the British luxury car company Bentley. It also worked for the 2012 London Olympics.
FutureBrand will rework Air India's identity as the carrier aspires to compete against the big names in the industry which includes Emirates and Singapore Airlines.
When will Air India's new brand identity be unveiled?
The new brand identity is expected to be unveiled in August, along with a series of print and digital advertisements. McCann Worldgroup, under Prasoon Joshi, will oversee the advertising and marketing for the airline.
Tata's integration plan
To operationalise its airlines in an integrated manner, Tata Group is integrating Vistara into Air India to create a single full-service airline. Thus, the Vistara brand will no longer exist after the merger. A person in the know told ET, "Vistara has set a high-quality service standard but it is hardly known outside India. So while a dash of purple is being retained on the tail and engine of the aircraft, the name will no longer be used."
Apart from this, Air India Express and Air Asia India will also be merged to create a single low-cost carrier airline.
