BA tailfins to disappear?

[chelsearose]

Last May the BBC published this article about BA tailfins...

Friday, 11 May, 2001, 16:16 GMT 17:16 UK

R.I.P. British Airways' funky tailfins

BRITISH AIRWAYS' Funky tailfins (also known as "Ethnic", "Arty" and "World") Quietly after ailing for a long time, aged just four years.
BA had been proudly expectant of the tailfins, which included designs based on Chinese calligraphy, Delft pottery, and by acclaimed artists Emmly and Martha Masanabo, twin sisters from the Ndebele village of Wolwekraal in Mpumalanga, S Africa. Inspiration had been sought from the Kalahari desert and Poland's concrete high-rise flats.

It was not an easy birth, costing £60m, and to a somewhat hostile reception.

Happier times

Particularly uphappy was the reaction of one elderly aunt, Margaret, who was so disgusted by the sight of the newborn she tried to cover it up with a handkerchief from her handbag.

The company's intention, replacing the traditional Union flag tailfin with something more modern, was to create a cosmopolitan feeling airline, not one trading on past glories of the Empire.

The then boss, Bob Ayling, said: "Perhaps we need to lose some of our old-fashioned Britishness and take on board some of the new British traits."

However, like many grand British institutions, the parents fell on harder times. Some observers thought an airline which did trade on past glories but which made pots of money was preferable to one which did neither.

In stark contrast to Ayling's position, a spokesman said going back to the Union flag "reinforces a core goal of Britishness in a more modern and less formal way".

The end, when it finally came, was long and drawn out. It was, after all, only two years ago that BA decided half of its 290-strong fleet of airlines would go back to the Union flag design. Now the end has come for the remaining 170 "ethnic" fins.

Does anyone know if finally the tailfins are going to disappear? I think the idea was so different and new and it's a shame they're removing them now...it was an excellent project and gave the airline a modern appearance...and going back to the union flag is not a great idea.

Why is BA going back to the old image? it's a bit sad,they had done such a good job!

Chelsearose

[BeACrewmember]

I don't consider BA's decision to drop the graffiti tails means that we are going back to the 'old image'.
On the contrary, the Union Flag as proudly depicted on Concorde is a modern and fresh no nonsense representatoin of Britain's most successfully run companies.
We are proud to show off to all the world that we are British and not ashamed of being so, but with the new fresh look we also convey that we are also very approachable.
We must never forget that most of our non British passengers actually do fly with us just because we are British and represent the highest form of safety and professionalism.
Now that is something we are once again showing off to the world with pride and long may the Union Flag fly on our aircraft!

[chelsearose]

Well I think BA can be as professional and safe with or with the tailfins,that's not the point,I wasn't questioning the airline professionalism at all,and this is just about the image...and I don't think BA is going back to the old image either,what I meant is that it was similar to the old image...the artistic tails were something new and BA was the first airline doing something so interesting.It's just something visual,nothing to do with being British or not...

And believe me I don't think non British passengers choose BA just because you're British,passengers choose the airline they want to fly with for different reasons but not for your nationality images/icons/confused.gif you can be proud of being British too without the Union flag...and what you show off to the world is your wonderful customer service,your safety,your good world offers...that's what really matters.

[fly777]

I really prefer our Union tails, I feel it gives us the crew a sense of pride, allthough I should point out we were not the first to try these different tail themes, other airlines have over the years tried this concept, albeit as a tempoary thing and to be honest most of our customers say they can now recognise our planes at airports !

[nwacrew]

Part of the problem with the ethnic tailfins was that most of them were downright ugly. (Chelsea Rose being a noteable exception.) Too many of the designs looked like nothing more than bad 60's wallpaper. I think the Union Flag livery is a huge improvement. But what I REALLY like are the framed archival photos displayed on your aircraft bulkheads! Very classy and a nice reminder of how flying used to be...(sigh)

[traveler]

My vote doesn't count either, but isn't it sorta nice that when a passenger sees your plane it recognises which airline it belongs to ? Especially an airline like BA which is proud of its reputation, and rightfully so.

[747_Trolly_Dolly]

Ladies & Gentlemen...

You should be very proud of the diverse cultural composition of your crews... You are the only airline that I know of and have flown with (when allowed) that brings together different cultures and understandings / respect to different religious beliefs. You are truly multicultural / national.

Afterall, we are all equal graemlins/pilot2_smilie.gif

Big SHAME on all of US... graemlins/plane_smilie.gif

[BeACrewmember]

I am pleased that our multiculturalism is portrayed where it matters ie in the cabin and not on our soon to be ex shabby exterior. Unfortunately as NWACREW rightly commented, they really were ugly; and although the idea seemed feasable at the time, we had extremely adverse (to say the least) feedback from our passengers.
At the end of the day, they are our bread and butter and their views are never taken lightly.

[flybaby]

Glad to hear the Union Flag is coming back to your aircraft!!! At Delta, we now have new livery and I feel that our aircraft have somehow lost their identity. We also changed our uniforms last year and now I always get the question "Who are you with?" when waiting for the hotel van.

I think the old tailfins were interesting and imaginative, but I think the Union flag tails is best fro BA, it shows that they're a British airline.
The following article is also from the Beeb and was written when BA was about to go to the Union Jack tailfin and Virgin was to launch the Silver Dream Machine
BBC:
British Airways is to ditch the much-criticised "ethnic" tailfin logos on half its fleet and replace them with a red, white and blue Union Flag-based design.
The airline said UK customers had not been won over by the abstract "world images" designs introduced two years ago.
The much-criticised £60m re-branding featured designs from Delft pottery to Chinese calligraphy.
They were commissioned from international and British artists in an effort to reflect the airline's "cosmopolitan" outlook.
But the move in 1997 provoked immediate criticism. Baroness Thatcher famously draped her handkerchief over a model aircraft sporting one of the new tail designs at a Conservative party conference, calling it "awful".
Market research has now found that British customers - who make up 40% of the airline's business - had not taken to the new designs, said BA.
The announcement comes a day before UK rival Virgin reveals its own new look for its planes.
BA chief executive Bob Ayling maintained that the multi-coloured tailfins had proved popular across the world and the 170 aircraft sporting the international look would not be repainted.
But the 160 aircraft which still have the traditional British Airways look will be re-painted with the new Union Flag based design rather than abstract images.
Mr Ayling said: "What people want are designs which reflect their culture.
"BA is a British-based airline. The decision we have taken reflects this reality. The Union Flag was one of the original images launched on Concorde and it has researched consistently well."
He said the new design, a wavy mix of red, white and blue was based on a flag used by Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Mr Ayling, asked if the multi-coloured look had been a mistake, added: "Right at the beginning we had not intended to do this - what we are doing is doing what people in Britain clearly want."

Virgin's new look
The timing of the announcement was "obviously interesting" said Richard Branson, who introduced the Union Flag on to his Virgin aircraft when BA announced its world designs in 1997.

"When I talk to people from overseas they feel that Britain is something to be proud of and flying in a British carrier, whether it is Virgin or BA, is something that they feel secure and safe in," said Mr Branson.

"The squiggly lines didn't work, in Britain or abroad, and their profits have dive bombed since they introduced them and Virgin's have gone soaring up since we bought the flag back, so I don't think it worked.

"I think if they asked a few people after they had done the first one or two planes, they most likely would not have done any more," added Mr Branson.
Asked if anyone at BA should be sacked over the redesign he said: "That would be up to Robert Ayling to ask himself whether or not he feels comfortable."
The new look for the Virgin fleet, to be unveiled on Monday, is reported to feature the Union Flag prominently in a metallic silver livery.

Personally I think that BA's German subsidary DBA should keep the German fins, Sun Air keep the Danish one and Comair keep the S. Africa one. Populr Global Images, with the UK

[ 02-10-2002: Message edited by: jordi ]</p>