Light Years
Veteran
- Aug 27, 2002
- 2,878
- 0
RowUnderDCA-
I do see your points... but for what there was to work with I think they did a good job.
In nations with a flag carrier, the symbol is as much a source of national pride as thier flag is. Look at the upset after BA started using the World Art tails or whatever they were called- people saw it as something like flag burning. People really accociate with a LOT Polish, Lufthansa, or Aer Lingus as they represent thier nation's wordwide status.
The United States, because of its size and deregulated airline industry, doesnt really have a national flagship airline. Pan Am's symbol was at one point the most recognized symbol in the world along with Coca-Cola. When you saw the Beatles come to America, the blue meatball was right behind them. Interestingly, that logo was a globe with little reference to the US or its flag. Today, the AA Eagle or United sweeping U/tulip represent America, again without all that much reference to the national identity.
USAir, pre-Airways, had a logo of its name with vague blue and red (replacing the rusty orange-brown look). The name itself was an attempt at a big-boy name instead of something regional like Allegheny, Piedmont, or Pacific Southwest. It succeeded in making it sound like a real airline, but also sounded pretty generic. The Airways rebranding cleverly replaced the now pokey-sounding "Air" with Airways, which is much more international and distinguished sounding. The midnight blue and gray that dominate along with red and white reference the flag but wisely use shades of the colours that are not widely used. The dark blue is serious and businesslike and wont be confused with any other major airline.
The "stylized flag" logo is very clever. US Airways is a conglomerate of regional airlines that each had a very clear, and very different identity. But the combined entity had little to go on as a brand, unlike American, Delta, United and friends who have always been what they are and have a long standing identity as a part of American culture. US Airways wanted to be seen as one of thier peers (at least at the time). With little more to go on than the name- US Airways- they went with a rendering of the US flag. That could have gone wrong and been tacky, but what they ended up with is brilliant. It does its job without offense, evoking America but also forging an identity for an airline that needed one. When one of those planes lands in a foreign country, it demands the same respect our bigger rivals do. It's a stamp that can be put on anything from uniforms to ground equiptment to napkins that is uniquely ours and is unmistakeable.
As an employee (or not
) that was junior enough to only know it as US Airways, its a source of pride. I feel proud when I see that logo because it was a major part of my life that I enjoyed immensly and know that I did a good job at. It will never represent furloughs, dispacements, bankrupcies, concessions, or unemployment to me as it represents the airline itself, not the people currently "taking care" of it or the sad events that have led to the current situation. To me it represents some great life experiences and wonderful people. You cant beat that!
I do see your points... but for what there was to work with I think they did a good job.
In nations with a flag carrier, the symbol is as much a source of national pride as thier flag is. Look at the upset after BA started using the World Art tails or whatever they were called- people saw it as something like flag burning. People really accociate with a LOT Polish, Lufthansa, or Aer Lingus as they represent thier nation's wordwide status.
The United States, because of its size and deregulated airline industry, doesnt really have a national flagship airline. Pan Am's symbol was at one point the most recognized symbol in the world along with Coca-Cola. When you saw the Beatles come to America, the blue meatball was right behind them. Interestingly, that logo was a globe with little reference to the US or its flag. Today, the AA Eagle or United sweeping U/tulip represent America, again without all that much reference to the national identity.
USAir, pre-Airways, had a logo of its name with vague blue and red (replacing the rusty orange-brown look). The name itself was an attempt at a big-boy name instead of something regional like Allegheny, Piedmont, or Pacific Southwest. It succeeded in making it sound like a real airline, but also sounded pretty generic. The Airways rebranding cleverly replaced the now pokey-sounding "Air" with Airways, which is much more international and distinguished sounding. The midnight blue and gray that dominate along with red and white reference the flag but wisely use shades of the colours that are not widely used. The dark blue is serious and businesslike and wont be confused with any other major airline.
The "stylized flag" logo is very clever. US Airways is a conglomerate of regional airlines that each had a very clear, and very different identity. But the combined entity had little to go on as a brand, unlike American, Delta, United and friends who have always been what they are and have a long standing identity as a part of American culture. US Airways wanted to be seen as one of thier peers (at least at the time). With little more to go on than the name- US Airways- they went with a rendering of the US flag. That could have gone wrong and been tacky, but what they ended up with is brilliant. It does its job without offense, evoking America but also forging an identity for an airline that needed one. When one of those planes lands in a foreign country, it demands the same respect our bigger rivals do. It's a stamp that can be put on anything from uniforms to ground equiptment to napkins that is uniquely ours and is unmistakeable.
As an employee (or not
) that was junior enough to only know it as US Airways, its a source of pride. I feel proud when I see that logo because it was a major part of my life that I enjoyed immensly and know that I did a good job at. It will never represent furloughs, dispacements, bankrupcies, concessions, or unemployment to me as it represents the airline itself, not the people currently "taking care" of it or the sad events that have led to the current situation. To me it represents some great life experiences and wonderful people. You cant beat that!
