How the OG Air India logo came to be, from centaur to Konark Chakra to swan

The mere sight of the mango-orange stabilizer adorned with wheel spokes and a swan at any airport evokes a profound sense of longing for home among Indians. From the runways and aprons of Milan to Mumbai, the distinctive Air India aircraft with its logo has consistently stirred a powerful feeling of belongingness within our hearts for a long time.

Even during challenging times for the airline, when the Indian skies were dominated by the IndiGo blues, Air India aircraft have consistently stood out.

Tracing our legacy through the evolution of our logos! From Tata Airlines in 1932 to our emblem adorned with the wheel of Konark, each logo takes shape of a fabled chapter in our journey. #TreasuresOfAI #TBT #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/tvzCBLyuQv

— Air India (@airindia) August 10, 2023

A significant part of this enduring distinction is owed to the iconic logo that has journeyed through time, evolving along with the airline since its inception in 1932 as "TATA AIR LINES." The bold and enduring alphabets of this branding continue to be a prominent feature of its logo to this day.

Notably, in 1946, a significant addition was made to the logo in the form of a well-known centaur emblem in a striking shade of red when the airline was officially established as Air India. Elements of this emblem still grace its aircraft today, representing the enduring pride of the Maharaja.

TATA era

• In its initial 14 years as Tata Air Lines, the airline did not have a logo per se.
• The branding consisted of a simple yet elegant name - a slender, uppercase, sans-serif text in black bearing the company's name. Please note the gap between "Air" and "Lines."

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Air India, cleared to land

• In 1946, Air India was officially established, replacing the previous name TATA Air Lines.
• This rebranding introduced the iconic centaur emblem, which became a longstanding symbol for the airline.
• The centaur on the Air India logo depicted the shooting of an arrow within a circle, representing the wheel of Konark from the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha.
• Over time, the wheel element was refined and integrated into the current branding.
• Both the emblem and the lettering below it were presented in red against a white background.
• The selection of the centaur logo is attributed to the founder, JRD Tata.

• Concurrently, with the new name and logo, Air India introduced a nameplate in dark red letters. The label featured 'Air-India' above the handwritten word 'international,' with the 'i' in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase.
• This nameplate design was retained with minor adjustments until the 1960s when the 'International' was replaced by a slanted black Hindi branding at the bottom. The nameplate could be seen on Air India's earliest birds.

• In the 1970s, the branding underwent variations, twice placing the name and centaur logo side by side in both English and Hindi, though the size and colour were modified.

The centaur emblem, once a hallmark of Air India's identity, now graces the smaller ATR aircraft of its subsidiary, Alliance Air.

• A significant yet short-lived change occurred in the early 1990s. In 1989, Air India marketers worked on a new logotype, featuring a red parallelogram enclosing a sun with bronze rays.
• The star was positioned within a circular frame, subtly visible against the red backdrop. In the lower right corner, the name was inscribed in Hindi and English, with the font style appearing more subdued and upright.
• Frankly, this one did not quite strike a chord.

• In the subsequent year, the 1972 logo was reinstated with a slightly darker colour tone, a design that persisted until the unveiling of the current logo in 2007.

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• The modern corporate logotype showcases a red swan alongside the re-emergence of the orange 'Konark Chakra' image. The names in Hindi and English are displayed to the left in a polished and slanted manner.
• Typically, the swan logotype is positioned on the tail section of the aircraft, a feature that will likely continue as the airline prepares for an imminent rebranding.

In 2004, the hyphen between 'air' and 'India' was eliminated to enhance the airline's searchability on various internet-based platforms, aligning with the demands of the digital age.

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TATA 2.0

It will be intriguing to observe the next move of the airline under TATA's ownership once again, especially considering their ownership of several other airlines and the ongoing speculations about potential mergers. There's notable anticipation surrounding the forthcoming logo redesign.

According to various sources, the iconic Maharaja is likely to be downplayed, and the current red and tango orange livery is expected to be substituted with a violet colour scheme. This new colour scheme would be reminiscent of Vistara's branding, another enterprise of the TATA group.

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