Flying colours: The changing face of the airline industry

But while external liveries are becoming simpler and bolder, aircraft interiors are becoming more indulgent. Air France is introducing its luxurious La Premiére first-class seats each in its own 38 sq ft private suites with five windows, transforming into a full-length bed. Meanwhile, British Airways, which has been criticised for losing its premium, upmarket positioning, has embarked on a £7bn transformation programme, rolling out new first-class and short-haul seats and cabins, improved luxury lounges in international airports, relaunching the Air Miles loyalty scheme and an increased focus on AI and personalisation. A uniform upgrade has been designed by Savile Row designer Ozwald Boateng and BA is rolling out new aircraft, new cabins and a refreshed website and app experience.

Unveiling an upgraded seat for first class, the airline says it is designed to provide a “luxury hotel feel”, with a reclining bed in a cocooned curved wall, offering privacy. Dual seats in the centre of the plane offer buddy dining.

Another factor behind the redesigns is the decline in business flights, down by 20% in 2024 compared to pre-Covid levels. This is another impact of the pandemic, as businesses have learnt to rely on videoconferencing rather than face to face meetings. Today’s travellers combine business trips with extended stays for holidays and long-haul flights are increasingly catering for digital nomads who can work from anywhere and a growing market of leisure travellers. Through upgrades and rebrands, airlines are pivoting to target new travel trends to compensate for the loss of corporate travel.

Attempts to lure upmarket passengers include greater use of olfactory and sonic branding to create a wrap-around sense of luxury. Air France has introduced AF001 as its signature fragrance, created by a master perfumier and being introduced into its airport lounges. Delta airlines has the signature “calm” scent and Singapore Airlines has its Stefan Floridian Waters. Meanwhile, national carriers often use traditional music from their cultures as passengers board and in lounges. The Middle Eastern airlines are considered to be especially active in this area.

However, it is not only national carriers and long-haul travel that has been reshaped by the pandemic. Some of the short-haul and leisure airlines have also rebranded as they have sought to take advantage of the bounce back in tourism when the lockdowns were lifted. Many have focused more strongly on their market segments.

According to branding consultant George Nisioiu, founder and partner at Innerpride Branding, one of the most groundbreaking liveries of all time is the rebranding of Germany’s Condor Airlines in 2022. A purely leisure airline running package holidays, Condor created new branding with different coloured stripes around all its planes. These evoke the stripes on parasols, beach towels and sun loungers associated with holidays.

“They have this striking striped livery that stands out wherever they travel,” he says. “It’s quite basic in structure, it is very striking, it doesn’t go unnoticed.” Some have wondered if Condor is trying “too hard” with the rebrand.

JetBlue has used patterns and graphical gimmicks on their livery. They have also used different liveries for trans-oceanic flights, and other types of routes.

For the future, Nisioiu says, branding will become more personalised and integrated. “Big data analysis will dictate a lot of the trends that we’ll see in the future,” he says. He predicts that with the extensive data available to airlines, they will be able to do even better targeting than Facebook.

“I think more companies will upgrade their loyalty programmes because this is part of the branding that can create a real sense of difference,” he says.

Futurebrand’s Silcox adds that people are becoming more discerning with their travel choices, making decisions based on their values and narratives. “They are choosing brands which match their social and environmental values, and which make this clear through their brand story.”

He says there is also a trend beyond the sole focus on service towards “allowing people to be the hero of their own travel story.”

While airline rebrands have made their identities bolder and simpler, they risk losing out on the subtleties which add intrigue to the flying experience. In a competitive market, these differences could be their greatest asset.

This article was taken from Transform magazine Q2, 2025. You can subscribe to the print edition here.

Transform : The only global magazine for rebranding and brand development