Air Canada Re-brands: Aiming to Fly Higher!
Airliners are like flying billboards. Choosing an airline may or may not have anything to do with the design or the paint job, or the fashion styles of their inflight staff. Surely airlines win your business with great service and competitive pricing not visuals. Business flyers are looking for perks, scheduling and a winning frequent flyer programme. Leisure travelers look for pricing and convenience. Is this just a game to stay ahead of the curve, modern and fresh. Is there more to it than that though? Re-branding is an expensive proposition, but it happens industry wide. What does Air Canada hope to gain?
Air Canada's Present Livery as seen on a Boeing 787, is About To Change!
Here in Canada there are essentially 3 main airlines. Westjet, Porter and Air Canada. Porter is regional and does an awesome job of providing upscale service, tight hub scheduling through downtown Toronto's City Centre Island Airport and great pricing. Westjet is a presence nationally in Canada and competes directly with Air Canada on major transcontinental, and some trans-border and international routes. Air Canada has about 50% of the annual passenger traffic in Canada, Westjet 32% and Porter 5%. Air Canada is in the Star Alliance, some major global airline partners that include, United, Lufthansa, Turkish, Air China, Air India, and a number of other heavy hitters. It appears that with new aircraft coming into the fleet and a strategy to make Toronto Pearson Airport a global hub airport, Air Canada has chosen to step up its' game internationally with the spinoff being a heads up to its' Canadian rival airlines that the gloves are off.
Air Canada's New Look
According to Tyler Br?lé of Monocle and London-based branding consultancy Winkreative in an interview in SKIFT magazine. "The new livery is crisp, elegant, and a distinct departure from the light blue “toothpaste livery” of old. It reads as a statement of intent for Canada on the world stage. Less comfy cozy, more business and more confidence sitting alongside the best carriers in the world on far flung runways." The article by SKIFT writer Colin Nagy continues, "But one of the more important elements of the rebrand comes down to the employees. The design is intended to be a boost to their morale and how they feel about the brand they are spending countless hours in, hauling luggage, flying planes, and tending to passengers onboard and at check-in. “Ben (Air Canada President Ben Smith) wanted the new design to be a big statement of intent,” says Br?lé. “There was a lot of excitement at the unveiling among employees and also former employees that flew with their airline for 30 years. There was a sense of genuine excitement.”
Porter Airlines Bomardier Dash-8 Q400 Perfect for their Regional Route Structure
The article by SKIFT writer Colin Nagy states change was catalyzed by Air Canada President Ben Smith who wanted to position the brand as premium across the globe, with the “desire for cut-through and to stand out on tarmacs around the world.” Strategically, the re-brand also positions Air Canada on a different aesthetic playing field from the brand’s low-cost carrier, Rouge.The branding of a national carrier is nation branding by proxy. There are multiple constituencies, cities, languages and importantly, the citizens of a nation to impress.A deft touch is needed. Br?lé suggests half jokingly that “it is the most important branding project in Canada short of re-doing the flag. America is different— there’s many legacy players but this is the flag carrier for Canada.”
Westjet Flies B737s B767s and NextGen Bombardier Dash 8 Q-400s
The Air Canada re-brand, not so much about cost, but employee pride, global presence, nationalism and in the end a different form of competitive edge. Image and perception. In this day and age perception is reality and image wins points to the bottom line. In Canada we have a relatively new, edgy, Prime Minister that has global media romanced with selfies and public media. But now it seems the new corporate image by Air Canada signifies a new let's get down to business with class, efficiency and determination. Westjet and Porter have been savvy smart sexy competitors to Air Canada for a decade or more now, nibbling away at maket share. It looks like they are the ones that will have to retrench and sharpen up with Air Canada's new approach. But for many who spend money on airline tickets Air Canada's new game plan and whether it succeeds or not will come down to a few basics, service, dependability and price. They'll have to succeed the old fashioned way, they will have to "earn it!".
Air Canada B-767 1980s Vintage Livery, Looking a Lot Like the New One!
Air Canada's re-brand may cost millions of dollars, but many will say it was long overdo. Westjet and Porter airlines will have to rethink and retrench and while they do that Air Canada's global partners may reap financial rewards by their association with Canada's national flag bearer. Consumers may gain if the gloves come off with the 2 main Canadian carriers, time will tell!
https://skift.com/2017/02/13/whats-behind-air-canadas-new-look-and-new-branding/
https://www.skiesmag.com/news/air-canada-rebrands/