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Air France Unveils New Logo and Branding

Founded on October 7, 1933, Air France has grown to become one of the largest and most recognized airlines in the world. In 1975 Air France updated their logo, but a lot has happened to the airline since that logo revision over 25 years ago.

The previously French government-owned company was transformed into a private corporation called Groupe Air France. On May 5, 2004, Air France merged with KLM and officially became Air France-KLM. This merger created the largest airline in the world in terms of operating revenues, and third-largest in passenger kilometres.

After experiencing so much growth and change to the brand since 1975, it was time for an updated identity to reflect Air France's new global footprint.

air france new logo branding

Air France hired Brandimage to execute the re-design and by all accounts, they did a fine job.

Gone are the racing stripes in favour of a single contoured stripe producing a much cleaner and refined look. The typeface has also been streamlined and it too produces a more sophisticated aesthetic. Another interesting design choice was the decision to merge the two words into one. Some might find this a tad confusing as the airline will inevitably still be called 'Air France' but their brand identity will have the merged typography.

air france new logo branding

Back in 1933 when Air France was formed, it was actually a collection of airlines that grouped together to form the initial Air France. Air Orient, Air Union, Compagnie Generale Aeropostale, Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aerienne (CIDNA), and Societe Generale de Transport Aerien were the airlines that merged, and when the merger happened Air France adopted Air Orient's sea-horse logo as their primary insignia. The official name of the sea-horse is the hippocampe aile. As part of the updated brand identity, the hippocampe aile was transformed into a wireframe and will likely be used as a backdrop behind the new logo.

air france new logo hippocampe

Here's a video that explains more about the motivations behind Air France's re-branding:

Air France Re-Branded - New Logo Identity on Video.ca

One final 'note', the song that is featured in that corporate video as well as most Air France commercials is called 'Between the Miles' by Aswefall. You can hear the full song below: