Airline logos are more than just design, they are shorthand for an airline’s identity, reputation, and promise to customers. A good logo communicates heritage and quality instantly, even before you step onboard. A bad one cheapens the brand. Today, I want to share my 10 favorite current airline logos.
My 10 Favorite Airline Logos
For purposes of this post, I’ll stick to current logos, not historic logos (hence,no United tulip in this list).
10. Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines has used this logo since it split from Malaysia Airlines in 1972. And yes, the logo does look like it is from the 1970s, but I also think it is a symbol of quality and should not be modified. The bird is inspired by a keris, a traditional Southeast Asian dagger.
9. Emirates
The calligraphic rendering of the word “Emirates” in Arabic is iconic and timeless.
8. Iran Air
I always thought this was a winged seahorse like Air France, but it is a Huma bird, a mythical, immortal bird from Persian legends, also known as the Bird of Paradise, Homā, or Bird of Fortune. It is said to fly eternally without ever alighting on earth, and its shadow bestows good fortune, happiness, and even kingship upon those it touches.
7. Qantas
The iconic Qantas kangaroo needs no “Qantas” beside it…it is internationally recognized as the symbol of Qantas and needs no update.
6. SWISS
Simple, effective, and oh so Swiss, I love this simple logo which is a reflection of quality and national pride.
5. Aeroflot
The Soviet Union may have dissolved, but the hammer and sickle are still a prominent part of the Aeroflot Russian Airlines logo. It’s a distinct logo hearkening back to when Aeroflot was the largest airline in the world. I hope to fly Aeroflot again one day once the war in Ukraine is over.
4. JAL
This is a great case study: JAL updated its logo, it backfired, and JAL reintroduced its classic logo above. As I always say when it comes to logos, leave well enough alone…
3. SAS
What I love about the SAS logo is that it is timeless…and I’m grateful SAS has not introduced an ugly new logo so many carriers have. Note the picture at the top of this story is from the 1960s, yet the SAS logo remains unchanged.
2. Air France
Air France adopted the seahorse logo of its predecessor Air Orient, known as the hippocampe ailé, but it has become a symbol of quality and is seamlessly woven into the Air France brand.
1. Lufthansa
Designed by Otto Firle in 1918, the crane logo has not changed much over the last century. It’s iconic and while Lufthansa has struggled in recent years with a unified strategy for growth, I (very subjectively, I concede) still love flying Lufthansa…very, very much. The logo just makes me smile from ear to ear, unlike any other airline logo.
What are your favorite airline logos?
Pan Am. At one time that blue globe had about the same name recognition worldwide as Coca Cola. It still experiences a revival every few years from TV shows, products, now hotels.
Anti American bias at its finest.
Including a state sponsor of terrorism in Iran and a selfish desire to support a Russian company again when they are done conquering a sovereign nation. Maybe he can nuke Kiev quickly to end the war so you can book a flight with Aeroflot.
I get you are a globalist of the highest degree but promoting a few of these airlines is not a great look for you or the site.
But yea, the Third Reich had a cool logo too to some.
The Saul Bass United tulip logo
And no less impressive was the Saul Bass Continental logo as well — both classics.
I miss the tulip – that on a grey 747 is peak aviation to me.
Sure, as I said, the tulip is my favorite logo of all…but I’m only talking about current logos, not historic logos, in this post.
Maybe next United media event you could ask Scott Kirby to change the logo back?
This is a subject that Trump should really lean on United.
Sample social media post in Trump’s style…
Bring back the tulip. Getting rid of it….sad. If you do not comply, 100% tax on United flights. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!
Tulip Logo? I have not forgotten that United Airlines went into bankruptcy court with that logo and convinced the judge that they could not get institutional investors to buy stock after United was going to come out of bankruptcy because of the pension liability that United mismanaged. United also convinced the judge that United had no assets to fund the pension liability. Apparently the judge did not understand the value of the frequent flyer program or the credit card agreement with United. Matthew, you know that’s where the majority of the money is made by the airlines, not actual flying. Union passed off their pensions to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation ( government) in court and I am only collecting a third of what Union contractually promised me. What was United’s recent stock buyback worth? I know it was over a billion dollars. Should companies be allowed to buyback stock when they have passed their pension obligations to the Federal Government.? No!!!!! They should be required to pay the employees for lost pensions. Just another example of the working class getting screwed, while billionaires continue to get tax breaks that do not need or deserve.
Mistake in my last post; it should read “United passed off their pensions” not union.
Thanks for your post – it is very clear why the tulip is not a happy symbol for you and I 100% agree United should have taken back those pensions it dumped.
The tulip is very much current….in Turkish Airlines branding!
Did you check the logo of Pakistan International, it deserves to be in top four
Has to be the JAL crane roundel for me. Modernist classic, integrating a traditional roundel with the form of a distinctive national bird. Also reflective of Japanese ‘mon’ emblems. Clever, distinctive and timeless.
A few mentions for ones Matthew didn’t mention:
– The Thai logo (another Walter Landor design, who also did JAL, BA, Singapore, Garuda and several other airlines)
– Cathay Pacific’s brushstroke jade phoenix. Evocative of Chinese culture but distinct and modern.
I also love Srilankan logo.
Favourites though are BOAC’s iconic speedbird and the old (original) Royal Brunei with the state crest.
+1 on Cathay Pacific, as stated above.
I also think BA’s Speedmarque is a great logo. It’s unmistakable. As is Aeromexico’s Eagle Knight. I also think Azul’s logo is very creative as it depicts each Brazilian state.
Swiss doesn’t do it for me. It’s the airline equivalent of the Cleveland Browns logo.
The last iteration of the TWA livery was outstanding. I also like the old and updated Ozark Airlines.
Timeless logo?
You can’t beat KLM for that
Out of interest why do you still enjoy Lufthansa? Except for their First Class (which is excellent, but on very few routes) I find that every other aspect of their experience (particularly business) is really bad. Just look at the allegris rollout… a clownish affair.
My last F experience on LH was as underwhelming as everything else is about the airline. Even the FCT had some minor , shortcomings (e.g. appalling coffee, barman who didn’t have a clue about the dozens of whiskeys behind him and ended up suggesting something only because he knew it was expensive) which however were ridiculous in the context of what’s being sold as a world-leading experience.
ANA’s livery is good but the ANA itself is not truly exceptional.
Possible other contenders for best logo…
Alaska Airlines
KLM
Qatar (better than Emirates)
Good old ones
Northwest Airlines (Saul Bass backward S) and the NW compass pointing to the NW
TWA’s plain red
With any due respect, many of you are the biggest group of cucks I have ever read.
How many of you got beat up in high school when leaving your chess or D & D club?
Debating airline logos needs to be a SNL skit, and not a funny one either.
More clickbait pics of big ti$$ed women and less of the dork nonsense.
Douchebag Dave Edwards re: “selfish desire to support a Russian company”, excellent self-own description of your hero the Stupid Lying Corrupt Sociopathic Grifter-in-Chief.
Douchebag Dave Edwards, proving with your every (too frequent) comment that your nickname is absolutely accurate and completely deserved and that you have nothing better to do with your pathetic waste-of-oxygen life than to post abhorrent and revolting comments here over and over again every single day. Thank you for confirming once again that you and other MAGAs are stupid hateful racist morons. Trolling or not, the extent and frequency of your comments are indicative of severe psychiatric and/or addiction problems. Your insults, undoubtedly projection, speak much more to your lack of character than to anyone you attack. You should crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from you SHPOS.
Nurse, NURSE, Edwards has broken out of his padded cell again…
CP Air and Braniff International
I miss the CP air logo! Shout out to Air Canada logo, love the maple leaf
I’m a personal fan of the Cracker Barrel logo. Those idiots better not ever change it or there will be hell to pay.
EVA. Beautiful green and classically consistent with the Evergreen group of vessels too.
I don’t think that even one of these ten logos had been designed within this century.
I can think of Skyalps, Aegean’s recent rebranding, and the VN lotus flower as examples of contemporary logos that work really well for me. The Airlink sunbird is also worth mentioning as it’s a fresh and colourful design, but it’s probably too intricate for today’s world and won’t necessarily look good on a phone screen.
SWISS was designed this century because the airline didn’t exist last century.
That’s true, but it’s a very tame evolution of the historic SR logo.
I preferred the old Aegean logo and when they talked of rebrand, I saw one tryout which was the old one with the colours inverted, it looked great and IMO, much better than the new one – which is OK but a bit too much like Malaysia Airlines.
What about MY logo? It’s a Southwest heart with a good crack in it 🙂 (note that I don’t hate Southwest, but I like the pun in the word.)I would love to see a Lufthansa Concorde concept.
My favorite was the classic BA Landor logo from 1984 – 1997
And the BA coat of arms:
https://www.yesterdaysairlines.com/uploads/4/2/5/5/42559615/2574462.jpg?213
Yes, I like that too very much!
Unfortunately BA no longer fly to serve, they fly to rip you off as much as they can!
I’d go with QR (the oryx on the tail is a fave of mine), KL (simple, and the definition of timeless), and CI (I quite like the orchid on the tail).
The flower on the tail of CI is a plum blossom, which is the national flower of Taiwan.
The Hawaiian Airlines “Girl Logo”, inspired by Miss Hawaii 1964
I like the Iberia logo. Simple & clean.
Now if only IB would finish re-painting all its planes with it, despite the logo being introduced over a decade ago .
I’m pretty sure they already have, and the only aircraft with the old livery/logo are a few ATR-72’s.
That being said, I prefer the older logo. The slanted IB with the crown was really handsome IMO. The only good thing about this logo is (are) the colors. And maybe the fact that it looks like an aircraft tail, but the rounded shape makes it look too similar to AA & Avianca’s logos.
Somewhat biased as it’s the airline I fly most often, but I’ve loved the new(ish) Air Canada logo and livery since it was released, perhaps a decade ago… the stark red maple leaf on a rich black really pops at an airport, much better than the rather bland lightish blue/teal hues of, circa 2000 (that one still sees every once in a while as not all widebody aircraft have been updated). If I’m not mistaken, the Winkreative design studio was behind that one, as well as that of Swiss, another favourite of mine.
I still miss the 70s Air France, with the blue cheatline and the “arrow” on the tail….twin globes TWA…Pan Am of course….and stars/bars United.
It didn’t last long, but I really loved the Canadian Proud Wings logo.
Love the image with Varig And SAS in the foreground. Spent my childhood in the 80s flying both. Either GIG to CPH with a stop in LIS, then on to ARN. Or Varig from CGH to GIG to wherever in Europe. Very nostalgic.
Aeroflot was the largest airline in the world? Yeah, well, I remember being in the boonies of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and seeing a crop duster parked next to a field of undug rotting potatoes. Emblazoned on the tail of the little plane was “AEROFLOT.” Of course it was the largest airline in the world. Every friggin plane in that soon-to-die country was Aeroflot.
I think it was during that trip that my translator and I boarded an Aeroflot flight and said translator reminded me to buckle up. Ha. I was in a window seat, she was on the aisle and the seats rocked like a teeter-totter. They weren’t bolted to the floor. LOL. Oh yeah, the FA’s rushed down the aisle handing out little brown paper bags as we taxied for takeoff. Oh, the good old days when tourists were urged to visit the Workers Paradise, just be sure to bring your own toilet paper.