For the first time in more than two decades, SAS has unveiled a new aircraft livery. What should we make of the new livery and the timing surrounding it?
The new livery maintains the iconic SAS logo and blue tail with gray fuselage (though the gray is a lighter shade). Like the new United livery, it appears more an evolution than a revolution.
Rickard Gustafson, President and CEO at SAS, said:
The new livery design is a symbol of our future, a more sustainable and competitive future for SAS, but one that also embraces our heritage. Travelers from Scandinavia will recognize their home, while global travelers will encounter the renowned feeling of the Nordics.
Highlights of the new SAS livery:
- The previous grey color used on the fuselage has been updated to a fresher shade of grey.
- A big proud and confident SAS logo has been placed at the front of the plane, in a silver grey tone.
- Analysis and customer feedback showed that the unique SAS blue color is strongly recognized by the community of SAS travelers. The new SAS livery embraces this unique relation between SAS and true travelers by enhancing and extending the blue color of the tail further down the belly of the plane.
- The earlier red engines have now been turned into silver grey and dressed with SAS blue crowns to harmonize with the SAS current visual identity, and to also embrace the connection to the SAS blue for SAS true travelers.
- The word mark “Scandinavian” is still located on the engines, but it is now in dark grey, in order to provide sufficient contrast to the light grey and silver color of the fuselage and to flirt with the SAS interior design color scheme.
- The word “Scandinavian” has also been largely and proudly placed under the plane on the belly as a symbol for SAS’s Scandinavian heritage and for clear visual identification from the ground.
- The Scandinavian heritage is also shown in the three Scandinavian flags that have been updated in a modern, elegant way. [they look like military ribbons to me]
Aircraft will be repainted over the next 5-6 years as heavy maintenance checks are performed. New A350s and A320neos, which will begin to arrive this year, will be the first aircraft to feature the new livery.
A New SAS Identify?
With new aircraft coming, it made sense to introduce a new livery. It may be as simple as that. But as flight shaming grips Sweden and risks spreading to Norway and Denmark, SAS finds itself in a difficult position.
SAS says the change to the paint scheme is meant to mimic a change to cabin designs that occurred in 2015. But I have to wonder whether this new color scheme is prompted by SAS’s desperate attempt to conform with the environmental Zeitgeist:
SAS has chosen an advanced coating material, provided by AkzoNobel, allowing fewer layers of color to be added. This reduces the weight of the aircraft significantly and translates into fuel savings as well as reduced CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the paint contains less toxins than conventional paint systems, while the increased durability allows for longer intervals between complete repaints.
CONCLUSION
I like the current SAS livery and also like the new SAS logo. Sure, it’s hardly unique and will be called boring by many. But I think the new livery is sleek and professional, no matter the motives for the change.
What do you think about the new SAS logo?
It’s quite decent actually. The huge silver “SAS” is bold but isn’t obnoxious or intrusive the way the AA piano keys were on their tail. I was initially afraid SAS followed Lufthansa down the path of infinite blandness of euro-white and a generic blue tail. Luckily, this stands out. Kudos I say.
One word SEXY ! I l9ve the simplicity of it and its not over bearing.
Not including some red, the colour of the Scandinavian sky so often in winter is a mistake.
This is bland beyond belief and the use of SAS twice in large letters demonstrates a lack of imagination.
As for more durable paint, that’s a cost saving and nothing more. If it had been more expensive SAS would not have spent the money.