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Revised UA livery revealed 24 April 2019 (sneak peek on FT on 23rd)

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Old Apr 23, 2019, 11:03 pm
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Last edit by: WineCountryUA
The “leaked” first shot:


United’s announcement video:
https://twitter.com/united/status/11...525993984?s=20

PDF of the new livery:
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/876...jpg?p=original

Out with the Gold, in with the Blue - United Airlines Unveils its Next Fleet Paint Design
Updated aircraft livery is the next step in United's ongoing efforts to modernize its visual brand

CHICAGO, April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, United Airlines is introducing customers and employees to a modernized aircraft livery, which will bring a refreshed look to its fleet. The design is a visual representation of United's ongoing brand evolution while staying true to the history it has developed over the past 93 years of proudly serving customers around the world.

"As we improve and elevate our customer experience, we are changing the way people think and feel about United, and this branding captures that new spirit," said Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines. "Each improvement we've added to our service advances our evolution as an airline, furthering our effort to elevate and redefine customer service in the sky. This modernized design, especially our iconic globe, enhances the very best of United's image and values while pointing in the direction of where we intend to go next in serving our customers."

The next iteration of United's livery prominently features the color most connected to the airline's core – blue. Three shades – Rhapsody Blue, United Blue and Sky Blue – are used throughout the design in a way that pays respect to United's heritage while bringing a more modern energy. The airline is keeping its iconic globe logo on the aircraft tail, which represents the carrier's expansive route network of reaching 355 destinations in nearly 60 countries. The tail will be updated with a gradient in the three shades of blue, while the logo will now appear predominantly in Sky Blue. The engines and wingtips are also being painted United Blue, and the swoop that customers and employees have expressed fondness for on United's Dreamliner fleet will be added to all aircraft in Rhapsody Blue. United's name will appear larger on the aircraft body and the lower half of the body will be painted Runway Gray. United's mission of "Connecting people. Uniting the world." will also be painted near the door of each aircraft.

The new design features core colors from United's updated brand palette, which was introduced last year as a step toward updating the brand's visual identity. Blue continues to be the airline's primary color, with various tones creating more depth and reflecting the colors customers and employees see when they look out the plane window at the sky. The airline's new color palette also includes shades of purple, which is most recognizable as the color of the new United Premium Plus seats are being added to the fleet. When combined, the purple and blue tones create a soothing environment and a more relaxed travel experience. In updating its colors, United is reducing the use of gold, which was added to the brand palette almost 30 years ago. United's new color palette can also be seen in the accent colors of the new uniforms that are being created for more than 70,000 front-line employees.

On average, United aircraft receive new paint jobs every seven years. The first aircraft painted with the new design is a Boeing 737-800, which will be joined by a mix of narrowbody, widebody and regional aircraft with the updated livery throughout the year. For more information visit united.com/brandevolution.
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Revised UA livery revealed 24 April 2019 (sneak peek on FT on 23rd)

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Old Mar 10, 2019, 5:37 am
  #76  
 
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Originally Posted by worldtrav
It represents a stylized "U" of United that happens to resemble a tulip.
It’s so boring. I think the real reason people don’t like the globe is just because it’s CO. To me it’s an obviously better and more modern design. Of course I could also be biased being a CO loyalist ; )
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 8:22 am
  #77  
 
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
By that logic, all Coca-Cola bottles should still look like this:




Really?
Where is the evidence that rebranding increases revenue? And if it doesn't, then it is wasted money.

I never buy products based on logos or packaging, I buy based solely on quality, usefulness, taste, etc.
With airlines, most business travelers buy tickets based mostly on shortest transit time, comfort and ability to work onboard, and customer service. Leisure travelers care most about price. Neither cares about pretty designs on the side of the plane.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 11:00 am
  #78  
 
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Originally Posted by zombietooth
Where is the evidence that rebranding increases revenue? And if it doesn't, then it is wasted money.....
If you read this forum, you might think pajamas and paint jobs actually matter. The truth is, outside this forum, nobody gives a rip about either one. Purchase decisions are based on price, convenience, and service quality.

And I would definitely buy coke in the old bottle.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 4:03 pm
  #79  
 
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Originally Posted by zombietooth
Where is the evidence that rebranding increases revenue? And if it doesn't, then it is wasted money.

I never buy products based on logos or packaging, I buy based solely on quality, usefulness, taste, etc.
With airlines, most business travelers buy tickets based mostly on shortest transit time, comfort and ability to work onboard, and customer service. Leisure travelers care most about price. Neither cares about pretty designs on the side of the plane.
This is not about you personally, but in general people always claim they aren't influenced by advertising, logos, packaging, etc, and they are pretty much always wrong.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 4:18 pm
  #80  
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Originally Posted by porciuscato
If you read this forum, you might think pajamas and paint jobs actually matter. The truth is, outside this forum, nobody gives a rip about either one. Purchase decisions are based on price, convenience, and service quality.

And I would definitely buy coke in the old bottle.
Pajamas actually matter - because the lack of pajamas injects an issue of uncertainty into the overall experience and confirms the unequal and unpredictable nature of the product. Given this uncertainty, my money goes to Polaris when I can do a W+GPU, but when I am paying a decent P fare and can confirm overwater on NH, SQ or BR, that's where my money goes because I know exactly what I will be getting every single time. When I sell United Polaris to my clients, I have a boilerplate warning that informs the client the actual aircraft seat they fly in is subject to change to a non-Polaris seat, the seat we assign is subject to change by the airline for unknown reasons beyond our control, and the onboard service they receive will be of lower quality in comparison to premium airlines that may be available at a similar or higher cost.

This policy was instituted after we became tired of receiving too many complaints from clients including some who blacklisted United from further consideration.

However, the branding and image of the airline, WRT its paint job, logo, or other such paraphernalia has exactly zero input into my decision making process.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 4:46 pm
  #81  
 
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
Pajamas actually matter - because the lack of pajamas injects an issue of uncertainty into the overall experience and confirms the unequal and unpredictable nature of the product. ...
You make a good point.. In a first for the whole Internet, I'm going to concede an argument, rather than insisting against overwhelming logic, that I'm right.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 6:51 pm
  #82  
 
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Originally Posted by porciuscato
You make a good point.. In a first for the whole Internet, I'm going to concede an argument, rather than insisting against overwhelming logic, that I'm right.
Well, you were right about me. Pajamas never matter to me because I am always too warm when I sleep, so I always fly in shorts and a T-shirt. I rarely use a blanket either and this sometimes confounds the FAs, asking how I can sleep without a blanket. I always tell them that being Scandinavian has its benefits.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 7:05 pm
  #83  
 
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Originally Posted by chavala


It’s so boring. I think the real reason people don’t like the globe is just because it’s CO. To me it’s an obviously better and more modern design. Of course I could also be biased being a CO loyalist ; )
A 30+ year design that is "more modern" The current livery needs to go and its definitely time for a new one, especially since some of us like various older United liveries like Rising blue and can't put it to past with this ancient livery. Hopefully the new one is a good looking one so we can put this decade long debate to pasture... I'd like the globe to go to pasture as well, but I know that probably won't happen for another 10-20 years. Actually I like the current branding (signs, website, credit card, etc.) and I think they have done a good job so far revitalizing the globe in those aspects so I really can't wait to see what the new livery looks like.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 7:33 pm
  #84  
 
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Originally Posted by physioprof
This is not about you personally, but in general people always claim they aren't influenced by advertising, logos, packaging, etc, and they are pretty much always wrong.
You're mixing apples and oranges here. I clearly did not say that advertising doesn't influence customer behavior, I said that I don't think changing logos or packaging does. Advertising can show a consumer something new that they know nothing about and thus, pique their interest.

But, let's get back to my question: Is there any evidence that rebranding increases revenue? Especially in the commoditized airline industry?
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 7:39 pm
  #85  
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Originally Posted by zombietooth
You're mixing apples and oranges here. I clearly did not say that advertising doesn't influence customer behavior, I said that I don't think changing logos or packaging does. Advertising can show a consumer something new that they know nothing about and thus, pique their interest.

But, let's get back to my question: Is there any evidence that rebranding increases revenue? Especially in the commoditized airline industry?
Rebranding? Absolutely none. Wasting money on stadium names? None. ROI on Olympic sponsorship? Losing proposition.

It's all about price, schedule, product, reliability, loyalty - each customer shuffles those in the priority that works for them personally.

What could increase revenue? Product improvements, better reliability, improved customer experience, more useful self-service tools, loyalty program improvements - any of those individually or in combination could affect revenue, and there might be a few others I've forgotten - but paint ain't one of them.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 7:52 pm
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
Rebranding? Absolutely none. Wasting money on stadium names? None. ROI on Olympic sponsorship? Losing proposition.

It's all about price, schedule, product, reliability, loyalty - each customer shuffles those in the priority that works for them personally.

What could increase revenue? Product improvements, better reliability, improved customer experience, more useful self-service tools, loyalty program improvements - any of those individually or in combination could affect revenue, and there might be a few others I've forgotten - but paint ain't one of them.
^You are absolutely correct.

I'll give UA a free idea that will absolutely increase their revenue:

1. Make 1 out of every 2 GPUs you earn book into open Z inventory.
This would mean half of your GPU flights would be guaranteed upgrades, except in the case of no Z avail.
Business travelers would flock to UA under such a scenario.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 8:07 pm
  #87  
 
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Originally Posted by zombietooth
^You are absolutely correct.

I'll give UA a free idea that will absolutely increase their revenue:

1. Make 1 out of every 2 GPUs you earn book into open Z inventory.
This would mean half of your GPU flights would be guaranteed upgrades, except in the case of no Z avail.
Business travelers would flock to UA under such a scenario.
At the expense of P (and Z) fares and TOD that they can sell.

I'm not sure I want a flock of el-cheapos heading toward my business for the freebies. What happens to them when I have to cut them off? Take a look at the Mariott RewardsPlus status reduction / lounge access removal for a hint.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 8:25 pm
  #88  
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Originally Posted by zombietooth
^You are absolutely correct.

I'll give UA a free idea that will absolutely increase their revenue:

1. Make 1 out of every 2 GPUs you earn book into open Z inventory.
This would mean half of your GPU flights would be guaranteed upgrades, except in the case of no Z avail.
Business travelers would flock to UA under such a scenario.
I can't see them ever doing this - if we assume a rough guess of 20,000 1K and GS members worldwide, and yes I'm just making that number up as it might be higher, we're talking 60,000 Polaris seats gone systemwide because Z will have more inventory than P, so everyone will book W+ and clear into Z, thus requiring both Z and P to be under strict revenue control similar to PN and PZ.

Originally Posted by ryman554
At the expense of P (and Z) fares and TOD that they can sell.

I'm not sure I want a flock of el-cheapos heading toward my business for the freebies. What happens to them when I have to cut them off? Take a look at the Mariott RewardsPlus status reduction / lounge access removal for a hint.
The Marriott situation is a catastrophe with a massive number of defections given the removal of key benefits that Platinum members from both prior companies received as a normal expectation - however I don't think there is travel and hospitality industry leader as absolutely clueless and intellectually dumb as Arne Sorenson - however it still sits as yet another case study for what not to do when you feed loyal customers a specific dish for years, then suddenly yank it away and the previously crappy looking alternatives suddenly don't look so bad.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Mar 10, 2019 at 9:56 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 8:37 pm
  #89  
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
Rebranding? Absolutely none. Wasting money on stadium names? None. ROI on Olympic sponsorship? Losing proposition.
You're essentially calling almost all Fortune 1000 companies stupid. Pretty convenient for your argument. <shrugs>
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 9:00 pm
  #90  
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Originally Posted by DenverBrian
You're essentially calling almost all Fortune 1000 companies stupid. Pretty convenient for your argument. <shrugs>
I didn't know we had 1,000 airline companies

The OP was asking specifically about airlines - and I maintain that rebranding alone, ie logos, colors and not hard or soft product updates associated with rebranding, along with stadium names and sponsorships either do nothing to increase revenue, or do so at a negative ROI vs the implementation cost.

I have no idea if rebranding with updated logos and colors helps Kellog's sell more boxes of cereal - it actually might, or it might not, but I don't know.
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