Time travel with Air India: India's oldest airline unveils new aircraft appearance, logo design

Air India Airlines on Saturday shared the first look of its redesigned plane since it rebranded itself and introduced a new logo and livery after being acquired by the Tata Group. A total of $400 million has been spent to refurbish its entire fleet to incorporate the new look. Air India in August released its new logo--The Vista, which is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame. The airline has completely transformed itself with a touch of legacy. The new livery and design features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, as well as a chakra-inspired pattern.

Showcasing its transformation, Air India shared the pictures on X and wrote. “Here's the first look of the majestic A350 in our new livery at the paint shop in Toulouse. Our A350s start coming home this winter”.

Former national carrier Air India has unveiled its new logo as part of its rebranding journey. The makeover of the now Tata-backed airline has come with new colours along with a change in the logo. The new logo symbol of the iconic carrier is called The Vista, and the peak of the gold window frame depicts progressiveness, limitless possibilities and the confident outlook that the airline has for the future. The new aircraft livery, on the other hand, consists of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights brought together in a pattern inspired by the chakra. The new Air India logo, meanwhile, features the airline's name in a custom 'Air India Sans' font.

The new logo – The Vista, a golden window peak, promises a whole new growth story for Air India and Indian aviation. Air India’s Maharaja has become invisible from the carrier’s overall presence, replaced by the wheel symbol. This time, the message is simple, from a carrier that could only cater to a privileged handful once is now ready to serve the soon-to-be third-largest economies of the world. Maharaja, the mascot of the airline since 1946 echoed the perception of Indian people once had – a land of kings and queens. The new, no-frills logo screams: India means business.

Air India’s story through the 90 years since JRD Tata flew its first plane, has been a story of continuous reinvention. Beginning from 1932 till 2023, the airline has changed its logo a total of 10 times. After the airline was acquired by the TATA group, the airline revealed its present brand new logo 'The Vista, a livery and hard product for its aircraft.

Air India's legacy through the evolution of logos. From Tata Airlines in 1932 to our emblem adorned with the wheel of Konark, each logo takes the shape of a fabled chapter in our journey. 

After India’s independence in 1947, the Indian government took a 49% stake in the carrier and renamed it Air India taking it out of Tata’s control. For the next few decades, Air India became a household name and began to make its mark as one of the finest airlines in the world. 

In 2018, the Indian government tried to privatize Air India by selling 76% of its stake in the national carrier but failed because no private-sector buyer expressed interest in the state-owned airline. 

In 2020, the Indian government approved a new proposal to divest a 100% stake in Air India.

Tata Sons wins bid for Air India. The Tata Sons and its strategic partner Singapore Airlines announced the impending merger of sister full-service carriers Air India and Vistara, in the run up to which Singapore Airlines is also investing in Air India. The new livery seems to be an amalgamation of the signature colours of Air India and Vistara, which had served as Tata Group's sole full-service carrier before Air India was bought back by the group. While the details of the merger are largely unknown, this revised livery seems to indicate that the merger might mark the end of the Vistara brand, with its legacy being slated to continue under the Air India banner.

The visibility of the new logo on the airline's carriers would begin from December 2023 with the debut of Air India's first Airbus A350.