A whinge: Why have Austrian dropped the blue??

[jensdad]

The thread title says it all. Why have Austrian dropped the blue from the bottom of the fuselage? Why are all airlines determined to look exactly like each other? Did that little bit of blue (that was a tiny bit of distinctiveness) really hurt them that much??






And don't get me started on Iberia...

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I suggest you contact them and ask them.....

[KelvinD]

When did this happen? The last Austrian aircraft I saw was OE-LBN at Heathrow in July and that certainly had the blue belly.

[jensdad]

It looks like it was quite recent, Kelvin. On the 'fleet' section of their website, the illustrations are in the new colours but the photos are in the older red, white and blue colours.

[DaveReidUK]

It looks like it was quite recent, Kelvin.

Actually announced more than a year and a half ago:

Austrian Airlines Launches New Livery and New Brand Direction (https://thedesignair.net/2015/03/30/austrian-airlines-launches-new-livery-and-new-brand-direction/)

"Austrian Airlines has quietly announced its new brand in respect for the recent incident with sister airline Germanwings. However, the new brand signals a big change in the Austrian carrier. Marking the fusion of both Austrian Airlines and Tyrolean on April 1, 2015, the new livery, which will be rolled out across the fleet. Dubbed the ‘Red White Red’ livery, this new look removes the sky blue elements currently flying in the fleet. No more sky blue belly or nacelles, instead, a Eurowhite fuselage and pseudo-bmi nacelle graphics which arching red swash."

[Hotel Tango]

Don't worry, all European airlines will soon be in the Ryanair livery :E

[KelvinD]

I just checked my photos again and find I was way out. The last one I saw at Heathrow was actually OE-LBU on 2nd October and had a blue belly with pale blue engine cowlings. Identical to this slightly older picture:
Ship Photos, Container ships, tankers, cruise ships, bulkers, tugs etc (http://www.kelvindavies.co.uk/kelvin/details.php?image_id=20823)

[jensdad]

Interesting link, Dave. My thoughts exactly...
The removal of the sky-blue, in our opinion is a step too bland. It was what made these aircraft identifiable from a sea of red white and well… red aircraft. In Europe, the carrier will now join the ranks of Swiss, Turkish, Air Berlin, Helvetic, Air Malta, and maybe even Iberia from a distance.

[jensdad]

And HT , Ryanair's livery is indeed one of the more interesting ones around at the moment.

[PAXboy]

If you remove one entire colour, think how much money you will save on each re-painting of the hull. Many carriers have changed colours and reduced the amount of colour for this reason. Not saying this IS the reason for Austrian, but it might be.

[El Bunto]

The new livery is bland but in my eyes the blue belly & nacelles were tacky, they really didn't fit with the rest of the livery nor with Austrian national colours. Looked like a last-minute addition in a weak shade chosen so as not to overwhelm the red. Airline branding predominantly uses either national colours ( new Austrian, AF, BA ) or a palette unrelated to the national flag ( Azerbaijan, Ryanair, new Egyptair ). Austrian's outgoing livery was awkwardly in-between.

[pax britanica]

Ah yes b randing-the great con trick of the modern world.

Compnaies pay millions for it and decades to 'earn '.

However it is interesting that in the airline business Ryanair, hugely succesful painst its aircraft like it is 1955 still and has a brand image that screams cheap, nasty, lo' rent and yet its very succesful because they offer a service that in general no one else does, dozens and dozens of routes like East Midlands-Limoge or Exeter to Kraklow .

Which very much calls into question the kind of marketing gibberish the legacy airlines use-like Austrian-when they modify their livery.. BA on the other hand or at least their website seems to be trying to morph into Ryanair or Easy with every step in the booking process linked to an effort to sell you another feature, hotel car hire, baggage etc etc while at the same time not working very reliably in its primary function of booking a seat.

Branding is essentiallya con in all industries since once a brand is 'established' the corporate psyche is to get the most value from it which generally means lowering the standard of the product in the hope that people won't actually notice

PB

[Skipness One Echo]

Branding is essentiallya con in all industries
Sorry that's just pub talk cobblers..
Which very much calls into question the kind of marketing gibberish the legacy airlines use-like Austrian-when they modify their livery.. BA on the other hand or at least their website seems to be trying to morph into Ryanair or Easy with every step in the booking process linked to an effort to sell you another feature, hotel car hire, baggage etc etc while at the same time not working very reliably in its primary function of booking a seat.
Yes that's basic cross selling. If you'd like a seamless and fast airline booking process that doesn't cross sell, your airline may likely go bust before you fly as they haven't mastered the basic arts of maximising a revenue stream. Perhaps web bookings are more a young persons thing?

A decent brand refresh can be a good thing, Ryanair's current livery is 21st century revamp of the 1994 colours and if you have a keen eye, has been tweaked in the last two years.
Austrian are repositioning in the market and had initially rebranded as "myAustrian" with several aircraft being so painted. The "my" was dropped on feedback but the new red and white remains. It's fresh and chimes with the national flag, does the job.

If you want to understand how important a brand can be, see how it can go in different directions as per UNITED / Continental and American / USAirways.