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British Airways ethnic liveries

A Boeing 747-400 wearing the Chelsea Rose livery takes off past two other 747s in the Chatham Dockyard livery, c. 2002

In 1997 British Airways (BA) adopted a new livery. One part of this was a newly stylised version of the British Airways "Speedbird" logo, the "Speedmarque", but the major change was the introduction of tail-fin art. Also known as the Utopia, World Tails and world image tailfins, they used art and designs from international artists and other sources to represent communities in countries served by BA's route network. The signature of the artist was carried near the design on the tail.

The new corporate logo was created by the London-based design agency Newell & Sorrell, who also oversaw the implementation of the tailfin designs.

The German designs refer to the BA subsidiary Deutsche BA, the French designs refer to the BA subsidiary Air Liberté, and the Australian designs refer to BA's alliance with Qantas.

History

Launch and reception

Our existing livery has served us well. It helped transform our company in preparation for privatisation. Now all of our research is telling us we must change again, to prepare for the exciting new era that the new millennium will bring.
 ...
The identity we unveil publicly today is that of a global, caring company, more modern, more open, more cosmopolitan, but proud to be based in Britain.

 — Bob Ayling, Why we are changing our identity, speech of 10 June 1997[1]

The adoption of this aircraft livery was seen as a move away from the traditional British image of the carrier. BA claimed that the previous Landor Associates scheme carried an air of arrogance and detachment,[2][3] and insisted that the new tailfins were popular with international travelers. In addition to the new tail art, the crest and motto "To Fly. To Serve." were dropped from the livery to make the airline appear more "global and caring."[2] In his speech at the launch, Chief Executive Robert Ayling declared that BA needed "a corporate identity that will enable [it] to become not just a UK carrier, but a global airline that is based in Britain" and the airline should better reflect the international image of the UK as "friendly, diverse and open to other cultures."[1] The total cost of the rebranding was estimated at £60 million,[4] of which £2m was paid to artists and the Newell and Sorrell design firm.[2]

The initial rollout consisted of 15 distinct tail art designs.[5] Quentin Newark later called the initiative "incredibly brave" and praised the work of Newell and Sorrell as "expressive [and] gleeful".[6]

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher covered the tailfin of a model 747 painted with Animals and Trees like this one.

However, they were unpopular with many traditionalists in the UK, despite nine of the designs being inspired by either England, Scotland or Wales. Flight crews derided the new designs as "Air Zulu."[7] Jonathan Glancey criticized the Utopia project as "muddle-headed and messy - ethnic designs turned into the equivalent of doll's-house wallpaper, things applied but not belonging", failing to give the airline a cohesive identity. Glancey added the ethnic designs "had the net effect of trivializing art and design from around the world", comparing their display to the patronizing attitude of the colonial era British Empire.[8] Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher showed her displeasure at the designs by covering one of the new tailfins (Animals and Trees) on a model 747 with tissue paper. She declared, "We fly the British flag, not these awful things" in 1997.[9][10] Thatcher also indicated with these fins the airline would lose its identity.[11][12] Amongst BA passengers, the highest rate of disapproval for the new designs was registered by business travelers between North America and Great Britain.[7]

Virgin Atlantic took advantage of the controversy by applying a Union flag scheme to the front end of its aircraft.[13] In their own 1999 relaunch, the flag was also applied to the vertical winglets of Virgin Atlantic's aircraft.[14][15]

Review of use

While the majority of the designs were applied to a variety of aircraft models, one scheme (the stylised version of the Chatham Dockyard Union Flag) was used on Concorde only. By 1999, BA had repainted around half its fleet (170 aircraft) in its new colours but then Chief Executive, Robert Ayling, announced a review of this process. The aircraft already repainted would keep the new designs, but the remainder of the fleet (still showing the Landor design) would receive a variant of Concorde's Union Flag design.[16] The announcement was timed to divert some attention from Virgin's relaunch. Chris Holt, the head of design management at BA who led the Utopia Project, resigned in October 1999.[4]

G-BNLH with Wings tail (1999)

A single 747-400 leased from British Airways to Qantas in 2000, registered as VH-NLH whilst operating in Australia (formerly G-BNLH), wore a hybrid livery complete with the Denmark Wings tail design. Under service with Qantas, the British Airways titles were removed and replaced with Qantas' own, but the remainder of the livery was left unchanged.[17]

In May 2001 the new Chief Executive, Rod Eddington, announced the entire fleet would receive the new Union flag livery.[7] The ethnic images would also be removed from baggage tags, menus, signage boarding passes and all company materials. Eddington argued that while an attempt to increase the airline's appeal was not a bad thing, the exercise had hurt the image of the carrier among its core customers – those that are attracted by the British identity. Eddington's opinions were echoed by Adam Hill, founder and partner of the advertising agency Designate, who stated that "name and logo are just small parts of the puzzle: to customers, the pride and heritage of this very British brand is what appeals, and swapping that out in order to appear modern and multicultural resulted in the very essence of the brand being diluted."[18]

G-MEDA with Whale Rider (2001)

The final aircraft with a "Utopia" tail (Whale Rider) was retired in 2006, an Airbus A320-200 registered G-MEDA. Two Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft continued to operate with "Utopia" tails (G-BRYU, Benyhone Tartan; G-BRYV, Colum) for regional service until 2006, when both aircraft entered service for other airlines.[12]

World tail liveries

Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Part of the original 15 designs introduced (the two designs from the Masanabo twins were counted as one, Ndebele).[5]

Photo gallery

Boeing 747

Reference:[20][21]

  • Chatham Dockyard Union Flag
    Chatham Dockyard Union Flag
  • Animals and trees
    Animals and trees
  • Rendezvous
    Rendezvous
  • Benyhone
    Benyhone
  • Water Dreaming
    Water Dreaming
  • Colum 1
    Colum 1
  • Colum 2
    Colum 2
  • Nalanji Dreaming
    Nalanji Dreaming
  • Kogutki Lowickie
    Kogutki Lowickie
  • Chelsea Rose
    Chelsea Rose
  • Paithani
    Paithani
  • Blomsterang
    Blomsterang
  • Wings
    Wings
  • Ndebele Martha
    Ndebele Martha
  • Delftblue Daybreak
    Delftblue Daybreak
  • Waves and Cranes
    Waves and Cranes
  • Blue Poole
    Blue Poole
  • Whale Rider
    Whale Rider
  • Wunala Dreaming
    Wunala Dreaming
  • Ndebele Emmly (model plane)
    Ndebele Emmly (model plane)
  • Waves of the City
    Waves of the City

Others

Reference:[54]

  • Delftblue Daybreak (Boeing 777)
    Delftblue Daybreak (Boeing 777)
  • Rendezvous (Boeing 767)
    Rendezvous (Boeing 767)
  • animals and trees (BAe 146)
    animals and trees (BAe 146)
  • Blomsterang (Boeing 727)
    Blomsterang (Boeing 727)
  • Whale Rider (Boeing 777)
    Whale Rider (Boeing 777)
  • Ndebele Martha (Boeing 737)
    Ndebele Martha (Boeing 737)
  • Benyhone (Airbus A320)
    Benyhone (Airbus A320)
  • Wings (Boeing 767)
    Wings (Boeing 767)
  • Avignon (Boeing 737)
    Avignon (Boeing 737)
  • Nalanji Dreaming (Boeing 757)
    Nalanji Dreaming (Boeing 757)
  • Chelsea Rose (Boeing 777)
    Chelsea Rose (Boeing 777)
  • Youm al-Suq (ERJ-145)
    Youm al-Suq (ERJ-145)
  • Waves and Cranes (Boeing 767)
    Waves and Cranes (Boeing 767)
  • Crossing Borders (Airbus A320)
    Crossing Borders (Airbus A320)
  • Bavaria (Boeing 737)
    Bavaria (Boeing 737)
  • Wunala Dreaming (Boeing 757)
    Wunala Dreaming (Boeing 757)
  • Blue Poole (Boeing 737)
    Blue Poole (Boeing 737)
  • Colour Down the Side (DHC-8)
    Colour Down the Side (DHC-8)
  • Golden Khokhloma (Boeing 767)
    Golden Khokhloma (Boeing 767)
  • Kogutki Lowickie (Airbus A320)
    Kogutki Lowickie (Airbus A320)
  • La Pyramide du Louvre (MD-83)
    La Pyramide du Louvre (MD-83)
  • Waves of the City (Boeing 737)
    Waves of the City (Boeing 737)
  • Primāvara (Boeing 757)
    Primāvara (Boeing 757)
  • Sterntaler (Boeing 737)
    Sterntaler (Boeing 737)
  • Water Dreaming (Airbus A320)
    Water Dreaming (Airbus A320)
  • Pause to remember (Boeing 757)
    Pause to remember (Boeing 757)
  • Paithani (ERJ-145)
    Paithani (ERJ-145)
  • Ndebele Emmly (Boeing 767)
    Ndebele Emmly (Boeing 767)
  • L'esprit Liberté (Fokker 100)
    L'esprit Liberté (Fokker 100)
  • Gothic (Boeing 737)
    Gothic (Boeing 737)
  • Colum (BAe 146)
    Colum (BAe 146)
  • British Olympic Team (Boeing 757)
    British Olympic Team (Boeing 757)

References

  1. ^ a b Ayling, Bob (10 June 1997). "Building a New BA: Why we are changing our identity". British Airways. Archived from the original on 20 February 1999.
  2. ^ a b c Martson, Paul (11 June 1997). "BA stops flying the flag in £60m facelift". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 March 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  3. ^ Clark, Andrew (9 September 2002). "Tail of woe". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b Teather, David (27 October 1999). "Taking Flight - BA's ethnic tailfin man leaves". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Building a New BA: Sky High Art". British Airways. Archived from the original on 20 February 1999.
  6. ^ Saner, Emine (31 August 2011). "The artists' artist: graphic designers". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Marston, Paul (11 May 2001). "BA restores Union flag design to all tailfins". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  8. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (11 June 1999). "Captain Bob and his coat of many colours". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. ^ Shrimsley, Robert (10 October 1997). "Fly the flag, Thatcher tells BA". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  10. ^ Clancy, Rebecca; Roland, Denise (5 September 2013). "When logo changes go wrong". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  11. ^ Classic Thatcher on BA on YouTube
  12. ^ a b Wastnage, Justin (26 April 2006). "Pictures: Final BA ethnic tail leaves Heathrow services as BMed Airbus A320 returned to lessor". Flight Global. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  13. ^ Ruddick, Graham (26 August 2016). "Virgin v British Airways: Was the Corbyn saga part of the old rivalry?". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  14. ^ McGhie, Tom (28 February 1999). "Virgin flies the flag with 2,000 new jobs". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  15. ^ Walters, Joanna (3 October 1999). "When two airlines go to war". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  16. ^ McIlroy, A J; Marston, Paul (7 June 1999). "British Airways is to fly the flag again on half its fleet". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 March 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  17. ^ "VH-NLH. Boeing 747-436. c/n 24050-779". Aussie Airliners. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  18. ^ Coleman, Alison (8 October 2015). "When branding campaigns go wrong". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  19. ^ "British Airways Liveries 1974-2015". Yesterday's Airlines. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  20. ^ a b Knapp, Nick (17 June 2011), British Airways World Tails Boeing 747 Aircraft Fleet Custom Made Artwork, retrieved 12 September 2019
  21. ^ a b "British Airways World Tails Boeing 747 Fleet on Skyscape". www.airlinersillustrated.com. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  22. ^ "飛行機アイコン EUROPE-ＢＡのワールドイメージ". sonicrailgarden.sakura.ne.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Your guide to the tails of British Airways' 'World Images' rebranding". Key Publishing. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  24. ^ Cgoise. "Animals and Trees". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  25. ^ MacDonald, Peter. "Mountain of the Birds". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  26. ^ Hydman-Vallien, Ulrica. "Flower Field". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  27. ^ Tuffin, Sally. "Blue Poole". British Airways. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018.
  28. ^ Bonfizz, Keld (July 1998). "G-BUSI OYKS 7-1998P". flickr. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  29. ^ Pickthall, Mark. "British Olympic Team". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  30. ^ Casey, Pierce. "Chelsea Rose". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  31. ^ Frost, Terry. "[untitled]". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  32. ^ O'Neill, Timothy. "Colum". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  33. ^ Avedissian, Chant. "Crossing Borders". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  34. ^ Kaagman, Hugo. "Delftblue Daybreak". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  35. ^ Belyantzeva, Taisia Akimovna. "Kudrina from Semenov". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  36. ^ Bass, Christine. "Grand Union". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  37. ^ Wojda, Danuda. "Cockerel of Lowicz". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  38. ^ a b "Flying Art Series". Qantas. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  39. ^ a b "Qantas announces special indigenous aircraft livery" (Press release). Qantas. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  40. ^ The Balarinji Design Studio. "Nalanji Dreaming". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  41. ^ Masanabo, Emmly. "Emmly Masanabo". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  42. ^ Masanabo, Martha. "Martha Masanabo". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  43. ^ Mehta, Meera. "Paithani". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  44. ^ Yip Man-Yam. "Rendezvous". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  45. ^ Dumetru, Morag. "Spring". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  46. ^ Brüggemann, Antje. "[untitled]". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  47. ^ Tjapaltjarri, Clifford Possum. "Water Dreaming". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  48. ^ Kayama, Matazo. "Waves and Cranes". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  49. ^ Kobylarz, Jenifer. "Waves of the City". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  50. ^ David, Joe. "Whale Rider". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  51. ^ Arnoldi, Per. "Wings". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  52. ^ The Balarinji Design Studio. "Wunala Dreaming". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  53. ^ Alem, Shadia. "Youm al-Suq". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019.
  54. ^ "British Airways World Images - Plomi". plomi.smugmug.com. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
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