Britannia lost it's image
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Cobbs Cross, wouldn't happen to be management by any chance would you.
I spoke to a 'PR' woman newly arrived into Britannia shortly after the paint scheme was vomited into the media. She thought it was wonderful, oh we had to move with the times. More like follow the rest of the sheep.
The reactions here, and in the tabloids shortly after the announcement, were adverse, but these Armarni(ish)-suited-HND-in-PR people never give the Gen Pub a second thought. They merely slap each other on the back and whoop in an American stylee, and explain to one another in their heavily contrived PR/Biznuss jargon that they know best what the public needs. Then off to the wine bar to guzzle some cheap white, which they think is 'tray sheek' because the owner charges them fifteen quid for this rancid Bulgarian prune juice.
I do not think the public give a flying Fokker that they are flying with the largest tour operater in Yurp. What they do want is to know that they are being flown by people who know what they are doing, and who are recognised for doing so. The old Britannia livery was very old school, but it inspired confidence, it looked business-like. Can you imagine saying to the Army HODs "Well green is fine for when you are shooting, but we think you would come across much better to the public if you had a kind of Butlins redcoat theme for your ceremonial duties".
Welcome to Blair's Britain.
I spoke to a 'PR' woman newly arrived into Britannia shortly after the paint scheme was vomited into the media. She thought it was wonderful, oh we had to move with the times. More like follow the rest of the sheep.
The reactions here, and in the tabloids shortly after the announcement, were adverse, but these Armarni(ish)-suited-HND-in-PR people never give the Gen Pub a second thought. They merely slap each other on the back and whoop in an American stylee, and explain to one another in their heavily contrived PR/Biznuss jargon that they know best what the public needs. Then off to the wine bar to guzzle some cheap white, which they think is 'tray sheek' because the owner charges them fifteen quid for this rancid Bulgarian prune juice.
I do not think the public give a flying Fokker that they are flying with the largest tour operater in Yurp. What they do want is to know that they are being flown by people who know what they are doing, and who are recognised for doing so. The old Britannia livery was very old school, but it inspired confidence, it looked business-like. Can you imagine saying to the Army HODs "Well green is fine for when you are shooting, but we think you would come across much better to the public if you had a kind of Butlins redcoat theme for your ceremonial duties".
Welcome to Blair's Britain.
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That thing on the tail is supposed to be a "TUI"? It looks to me like a waiter/waitress holding a tray.
The old Britannia livery looked fine to me. Why change? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
The old Britannia livery looked fine to me. Why change? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
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It's about time the old lady in the wheelchair (well, on the old livery that's what it looks like to me 
) made way for something modern.
I suppose Peyo gave them a good deal on his 'Smurf'blue paint <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
Face it Brits, you're in the hands of the Germans now! <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
) made way for something modern.I suppose Peyo gave them a good deal on his 'Smurf'blue paint <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
Face it Brits, you're in the hands of the Germans now! <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">
Yep, Padlock,and that's what concerns an awful lot of Brits at the moment.
Trouble is, not even a decent Opposition in sight!
Only lots and lots of pictures of the future President of Europe(?) and whether his offspring have had MMR jabs.
Trouble is, not even a decent Opposition in sight!
Only lots and lots of pictures of the future President of Europe(?) and whether his offspring have had MMR jabs.
Tsamaya sentle
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Captain Chaos 747,
while I agree with you that the new Britannia / Hapag Lloyd livery is somewhat weird, may I ask what this has to do with "bloody Germans"?
From your profile one would think that somebody from EARTH is rather standing above such like remarks and sentences like "My grandparents would be rolling over in their grave if they knew what was going on after they fought in the war."
While the old HF livery maybe wasn´t too attractive either, "bloody German" HF seems to be more reluctant to turn towards the new coporate identity. At least you can tell from the two websites:
<a href="http://www.hlf.de" target="_blank">Hapag LLoyd</a>
<a href="http://www.britanniaairways.com/" target="_blank">Britannia</a>
EDDNHopper
while I agree with you that the new Britannia / Hapag Lloyd livery is somewhat weird, may I ask what this has to do with "bloody Germans"?
From your profile one would think that somebody from EARTH is rather standing above such like remarks and sentences like "My grandparents would be rolling over in their grave if they knew what was going on after they fought in the war."
While the old HF livery maybe wasn´t too attractive either, "bloody German" HF seems to be more reluctant to turn towards the new coporate identity. At least you can tell from the two websites:
<a href="http://www.hlf.de" target="_blank">Hapag LLoyd</a>
<a href="http://www.britanniaairways.com/" target="_blank">Britannia</a>
EDDNHopper
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Wilfred - strangely enough, the British Army was very into its bright colours (hence the term Redcoats as in "the redcoats are coming!") It wasn't until the Boer War where those terribly unsporting Boers wore khaki and were there for very hard to spot bumped off the Brits in great numbers (especially the officers, who wore lots of shiny stuff and were therefore very easy to spot) that the Brits decided that discretion was the better part of valour and they, too, adopted khaki uniforms. This prompted the same level of outcry as the new BY livery (except, strangely enough, from the troops on the front line in South Africa who thought this was a Pretty Good Idea).
Join Date: Dec 2001
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Lets be honest as Brits
Britannia a/w was introduced to the German Market by Flight Directors(do they still exist after Islandsflug ?).
They (BY) then took upom themsleves to ignore their introduction, and directly signed a contract with Frosch Touristik GmbH (Dietmar Gunz)
They then set up Britannia Airways GmbH based in Berlin with German employees and B757s (German registered)
I was at a travel exhibition in 1998 where they
aggressively marketed their product in their Corporate identity and promised great things in
conjuction with FTI GmbH,
FTI then set up their own airline (FTI Touristik GmbH) and got more than a little inlvolved with Airtours.
FTI Airlines has now closed shop and Dietmar Gunz is a little richer.
Britannia attracted the attention of TUI since FTI was a little painfull competitor.
Britannia did have a choice.
Forget about the German market, or go along with
TUI (Preussag)
They chose the latter, who obviosly had the calls for Corporate identity
So after this flirt with the Germans they (BY) have lost their own Corporate identity
But it was their choice.
Please, do not be so hard on the 'Bloody Germans'
it was their offer and BYs' choice, absolutely nothing to to with WW2
Britannia a/w was introduced to the German Market by Flight Directors(do they still exist after Islandsflug ?).
They (BY) then took upom themsleves to ignore their introduction, and directly signed a contract with Frosch Touristik GmbH (Dietmar Gunz)
They then set up Britannia Airways GmbH based in Berlin with German employees and B757s (German registered)
I was at a travel exhibition in 1998 where they
aggressively marketed their product in their Corporate identity and promised great things in
conjuction with FTI GmbH,
FTI then set up their own airline (FTI Touristik GmbH) and got more than a little inlvolved with Airtours.
FTI Airlines has now closed shop and Dietmar Gunz is a little richer.
Britannia attracted the attention of TUI since FTI was a little painfull competitor.
Britannia did have a choice.
Forget about the German market, or go along with
TUI (Preussag)
They chose the latter, who obviosly had the calls for Corporate identity
So after this flirt with the Germans they (BY) have lost their own Corporate identity
But it was their choice.
Please, do not be so hard on the 'Bloody Germans'
it was their offer and BYs' choice, absolutely nothing to to with WW2
There is an irony that Brits is now owned by a German company.
As Hanginginthere says, they went into Germany full of ambition. Britannia GmbH was a great little outfit thanks in no small way to the enthusiastic and highly professional German crew members (they also were great fun).
Unfortunately, Thomson Travel Group never got its act together to get a piece of the German action - all Brits plans for expansion really hinged on TTG taking a part in the market. TTG looked at FTi (GmbH's charterer) and didn't like what they saw (perhaps Airtours subsequent experience with FTi justifies TTG's caution). With TTG focussing on its own flotation, they dropped the ball and never came close to securing a deal with a major German operator.
After the floatation proved such a disaster, making just a few TTG Directors VERY comfortable thank you, the whole Group including Britannia began to flounder around unsure of which way to go.
Meanwhile, in its short life Britannia GmbH, seemed to be going down very well with its passengers despite being constrained by size through lack of TTG backing. They certainly frightened the likes of Condor for a while but you can't mess with the Germans without having a very clear plan and the determination to see things through.
Now the tables are turned, probably with the end result being a better (if not cheaper) deal for the customer - compare and contrast German and British package holidays.
The Brits name and identity sadly was probably going to disappear anyway - the Thomsons marketing types never could stand it. Now it will become subsumed into the TUI identity - the crappy new look being just the first step.
Let's hope that as many of staff as possible who made Britannia what was get to keep their jobs and have a rosier future to look forward to than the misdirection and wasted chances of the last few years.
As Hanginginthere says, they went into Germany full of ambition. Britannia GmbH was a great little outfit thanks in no small way to the enthusiastic and highly professional German crew members (they also were great fun).
Unfortunately, Thomson Travel Group never got its act together to get a piece of the German action - all Brits plans for expansion really hinged on TTG taking a part in the market. TTG looked at FTi (GmbH's charterer) and didn't like what they saw (perhaps Airtours subsequent experience with FTi justifies TTG's caution). With TTG focussing on its own flotation, they dropped the ball and never came close to securing a deal with a major German operator.
After the floatation proved such a disaster, making just a few TTG Directors VERY comfortable thank you, the whole Group including Britannia began to flounder around unsure of which way to go.
Meanwhile, in its short life Britannia GmbH, seemed to be going down very well with its passengers despite being constrained by size through lack of TTG backing. They certainly frightened the likes of Condor for a while but you can't mess with the Germans without having a very clear plan and the determination to see things through.
Now the tables are turned, probably with the end result being a better (if not cheaper) deal for the customer - compare and contrast German and British package holidays.
The Brits name and identity sadly was probably going to disappear anyway - the Thomsons marketing types never could stand it. Now it will become subsumed into the TUI identity - the crappy new look being just the first step.
Let's hope that as many of staff as possible who made Britannia what was get to keep their jobs and have a rosier future to look forward to than the misdirection and wasted chances of the last few years.
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Saw one in LTN the other day, looking rather like a Korean colour scheme when first seen. I couldn't read the name on the front either, combination of my dodgy eyes and crap scheme.
<img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0">
<img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0">
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Wilfred, further to Guv's and your own post, I believe the British Army does wear "Butlins" style redcoats. Ever seen the changing of the guard at Buck House?! <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
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First let me say say that i'm a very proud BY cabin crew...
I do hate this colour scheme BUT..
I'm still in a job
Morale has never been better
Ive just recieved a pay rise AND
I have a christmas bonus.. the only time in my six short years.
Lets wait and see what happens..
p.s. the interior concept at the moment is Black, Orange and Red horzontal stripes ala dan Air and the German flag..
I do hate this colour scheme BUT..
I'm still in a job
Morale has never been better
Ive just recieved a pay rise AND
I have a christmas bonus.. the only time in my six short years.
Lets wait and see what happens..
p.s. the interior concept at the moment is Black, Orange and Red horzontal stripes ala dan Air and the German flag..
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This post is in response to hanginthere's post of 22nd December 2159...
Britannia may have been introduced to the German Market by Flight Directors, but why should they have continued down that route??? As you say, do Flight Directors still exist? - well the answer is NO - in Aviation trading terms, but the reservation side is still going (Maybe a wise idea not to have continued with their introduction then?).
Britannia then signed a contract with FTi, and set up Britannia GmbH based in Berlin, but NEVER operated B757's! Basically FTi ran Britannia GmbH, with Britannia being forced to bend continually to all FTi's whishes until FTi decided that they could do better and do it themselves!
The outcome of which we all already know, Airtours got envolved, burnt their fingers and closed it down.
At the point when you say 'Britannia' had a choice, they did not - no FTi flying, no Airline, so I am sorry, but you are wrong, Britannia did not become involved with TUI through their dealings with FTi, as Britannia GmbH was dead and buried well before any buy out.
Anyway - back to the thread, the new colours are awful, and its a great shame to see them go. They are a good Airline, but they have lost their identity, but then as 'oncemorealoft' mentions, why have an identity when you will become 'one' airline in the next couple of years?
Britannia may have been introduced to the German Market by Flight Directors, but why should they have continued down that route??? As you say, do Flight Directors still exist? - well the answer is NO - in Aviation trading terms, but the reservation side is still going (Maybe a wise idea not to have continued with their introduction then?).
Britannia then signed a contract with FTi, and set up Britannia GmbH based in Berlin, but NEVER operated B757's! Basically FTi ran Britannia GmbH, with Britannia being forced to bend continually to all FTi's whishes until FTi decided that they could do better and do it themselves!
The outcome of which we all already know, Airtours got envolved, burnt their fingers and closed it down.
At the point when you say 'Britannia' had a choice, they did not - no FTi flying, no Airline, so I am sorry, but you are wrong, Britannia did not become involved with TUI through their dealings with FTi, as Britannia GmbH was dead and buried well before any buy out.
Anyway - back to the thread, the new colours are awful, and its a great shame to see them go. They are a good Airline, but they have lost their identity, but then as 'oncemorealoft' mentions, why have an identity when you will become 'one' airline in the next couple of years?
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Had the "privelage"??? of seeing 'AP' touch down at GLA. My first reaction was to chuckle quietly to myself. Small child scribbles with blue crayon, writes 'Britannia' in lovely red then defaces the tail with....well I don't know really.
However, reputation still one of the best and punters shouldn't be put off I don't imagine.
Why that particular choice of font for the name? It's the worst part of it!
Old one landed next day. Dated but superior.
However, reputation still one of the best and punters shouldn't be put off I don't imagine.
Why that particular choice of font for the name? It's the worst part of it!
Old one landed next day. Dated but superior.
Frightening thought! Now Brits have a new paintjob, bet all of the other PR firms start persuading YOUR boss that he needs a funky new color scheme. I see Airtours in a nice red/green stripey with orange dots.
GROOVY, DADDY-O!
PS Tenerife on X-mas day. ATC couldn't see the "Britannia" on the ramp. Eventually..."Is it the blue one?"
BA tailfins - Deja Vu?
GROOVY, DADDY-O!
PS Tenerife on X-mas day. ATC couldn't see the "Britannia" on the ramp. Eventually..."Is it the blue one?"
BA tailfins - Deja Vu?
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Balboy,
If that really is the interior colour scheme, you are going to need a lot more sick bags!!
************************************************
Be alert, your airline needs lerts!! <img src="cool.gif" border="0">
If that really is the interior colour scheme, you are going to need a lot more sick bags!!
************************************************
Be alert, your airline needs lerts!! <img src="cool.gif" border="0">
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Interesting bitching going on about this new paint job, but one question. WHAT is actually wrong with it?. After all you only see it for a short time on the ground, passengers never really remember what colour it is or was and more to the point it is only bloody paint for goodness sakes. The a/c flies the same does the same job and we still get paid, sounds good to me. I await the inevitable bashing from the limp minded.