Air India unveils new logo, Maharaja to stay with different role

New Delhi [India]: The Tata-owned airline, Air India on Thursday unveiled its new logo which signifies limitless possibilities, moreover its iconic mascot, the Maharaja will live on with new role, said Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson on Thursday.

He was speaking at the launch of Air India’s new logo symbol, “The Vista”, in Delhi that includes a modern design with golden, red and purple colours, replacing the old logo of a red swan and orange spokes inside the swan, inspired by the Ashoka Chakra.

However, Wilson said that the Maharaja is a very important part of Air India’s legacy and they are proud with the legacy that they have.

“It has been with us for more than 75 years. It is very well known and beloved in India and amongst the Indian community overseas. We very much wanted to continue it especially in local markets and with the Indian diaspora.

As we move into international markets and beyond the Indian diaspora, the understanding of the Maharaja is not quite so clear. And it is not quite understood to stand for service and humility and Indian warmth and hospitality in the same way,” he said.

“We wanted to take the essence of the Maharaja the warmth for hospitality, the service ethic and distil it down not just into the way that we behave, which is going to be obviously part of our DNA, but also in the way that we use it to carry forward some of Air India’s legacy in a classy and elevated way,” he added.

It has been informed that Maharaja will not be retiring despite a shift in its role. Instead of serving as a mascot, the Maharaja’s presence will be reduced to the airline’s premium classes and airport lounges.

Speaking about the new logo for Air India, Tasneem Ali, Chief Creative Officer of Future Brand India, said, “So when we were re-imagining the brand, we actually looked at elements within the Air India brand world and had a new interpretation of it.

So the window which has always been on the plane, on the outside, inside menu card, the iconic Air India window which has been an enduring design symbol with the thing, we took that and re-imagined it.”

“And the whole point of the exercise was to create something that’s authentically and identifiably Indian, but presented in a very contemporary world-class manner…” he added.

The Maharaja mascot of the airline was created in 1946 by Bobby Kooka, the commercial director of the airline, who is responsible for the mascot’s personality and building the airline’s brand around the mascot.

Air India, a Tata Group-owned airline, unveiled a modern new brand identity and new aircraft livery that capture the essence of a bold new India, marking a milestone in its Vihaan. AI transformation of the national institution into a national inspiration.

The new look reimagines the iconic Indian window shape, historically used by Air India, into a gold window frame that becomes central to the new brand design system – symbolising a ‘Window of Possibilities’.

Air India’s new logo symbol – ‘The Vista’ – is inspired by the peak of the gold window frame, signifying limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and the airline’s bold, confident outlook for the future.

Air India’s brand-new aircraft livery and design features a palette of deep red, aubergine, and gold highlights, as well as a chakra-inspired pattern. It also boasts a striking new custom-made ‘Air India Sans’ font, marrying confidence with warmth to position Air India as premium, inclusive, and accessible.