PHOTOS: Air India Reveals New Livery and Rebranding

Air India has been undergoing a major transformation phase. The Indian flag carrier was recently privatized and handed over to the TATA Group as its new owner.

As part of its transformation, the carrier placed a mammoth 470 aircraft order from both Boeing and Airbus. This will see the airline welcome its first Airbus A350 later this year.

But perhaps more excitingly, Air India just revealed its new brand identity. This new livery is a huge facet of the airline's transition into a true world-class airline.

Air India's New Brand

The new livery of Air India has been developed in cooperation with management consulting company FutureBrand.

The new design features red billboard "AIR INDIA" titles written in a new, modern-looking font. The tail is decked out in red, gold, and purple and this is said to be inspired by the famous Rajasthani palace design that surrounds the windows of Air India aircraft.

The introduction of purple is a unique choice, as previous Air India livery iterations never included this color. However, the carrier says that having purple in this new branding serves as a reference to Indian carrier Vistara which will soon be integrated into Air India.

Air India says that its new logo, aptly named "Vista", signifies limitless possibilities, progressiveness, and a bold outlook for the future.

According to CEO Campbell Wilson, this new brand reflects Air India's ambition to become a world-class airline serving guests from all over the world.

This new livery will gradually be applied across the existing Air India fleet, while all of Air India's upcoming aircraft will be delivered with the new livery already painted on.

This livery revamp replaces the iconic red and white Air India livery that was introduced in 2007.

Exciting Fleet Future

Air India continues to expand and overhaul its fleet, having recently taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo back in June and excitedly awaiting its first A350 in December.

Providing some long-awaited news, Air India's existing fleet of Boeing 777s and 787s will begin to receive cabin refurbishments starting in mid-2024.

India's flag carrier also is looking to purchase and lease 20 widebody aircraft this year as it begins the long-awaited overhaul of its fleet.

Among these newly-inducted aircraft are lots of secondhand Boeing 777s. The carrier already has a handful of former Delta 777-200LRs primarily operating services to San Francisco and New York JFK.

Air India is also in the process of adding six former Etihad 777-300ERs and three former Singapore Airlines 777-300ERs. The first of these planes, VT-AER (formerly Etihad's A6-ETR), is already in Delhi and is awaiting its introduction to service.

VT-AER is painted in an updated version of Air India's current livery, similar to what is found on the ex-Delta 777-200LRs.

At the moment, it's unclear if the remaining secondhand 777-300ERs will receive the same livery, or instead be immediately adorned with Air India's new branding.