A New Icon Is Already Up In The Air

American takes off. Again.

Before & After

There’s much more to the art of branding than symbolism and iconography. But then, without the symbols and icons, there is no brand.

That’s why changing those elements brings such risks. There’s risk in staying stagnant, of course. There’s risk in living in the past. But in updating, in revamping, there’s danger of the noble past being erased.

There might be no more noble brand than American Airlines, and not just because their name co-opts the vision of a society and the ideals of a people. This company, aloft since 1934, helped create our global dominance in aviation. They’re a legacy of Charles Lindbergh and Howard Hughes. They’ve survived the most momentous age not just of flight, not just of travel, but of human experience.

They’ve also been in bankruptcy for more than a year, and have been held up as an example of the decline of airline customer service. If ever a company might benefit from rebranding, that company would be American Airlines.

Yet somehow, we can give only the most hesitant endorsement of American’s recently unveiled image, in the form of a new logo, company colors, and airplane livery. The look is bold, modern, and very striking. The aircraft livery is gorgeous. There’s little to quibble with here.

But there was little to quibble with in American’s old look, which dates from 1968 and was created by the venerable, honorable design house of Massimo Vignelli. For a brand image that’s pushing a half-century in age, Massimo’s design remains powerfully contemporary. It’s also one of the most recognizable trademarks on earth.

For all that, we won’t say that American’s rebranding was a mistake. For a company as stricken as American Airlines, maybe a rebranding was necessary to break with the past, and to start writing a newer, better narrative.

We just hope the American executives realize that a fresh brand won’t write that narrative on its own. The challenges that American Airlines faces are systemic, not symbolic. A fresh brand might bring a reappraisal from consumers, but only a better way of doing business, and a new commitment to service, will bring those consumers on board.  

The C4:

1. American Airlines has just rolled out a new brand; with a thoroughly modern logo, eye-catching aircraft livery, and even new company colors. (Don’t worry, they’re still American, so they’re still red, white, and blue. They’re just a slightly different red, white, and blue.)
2. This is a company that’s been in bankruptcy since November, 2011. They’ve struggled to present a workable plan for re-emergence. They’ve gained a reputation for abysmal customer service. So yes, perhaps this is a company that could benefit from rebranding.
3. But we’ll miss the old brand, created 45 years ago by superstar designer Massimo Vignelli. Few corporate images that old can remain so appealing, so contemporary.
4. Nevertheless, the die is cast. We hope the redesign serves American well. We also hope the company realizes that now that the designers have done their jobs, it’s up to every employee of American, from baggage handlers to executive officers, to create a strong new airline, worthy of its bold new brand.

Dreamliner’s Nightmare

Did Boeing rush to market?

Can you imagine the pressure? You’re already two and a half years behind schedule, with your product hotly anticipated by your customers, your company’s shareholders, your global supply chain, and the world at large. Every problem you encounter with design, every hiccup in your production process, is an instant headline. Designing on the cutting edge is difficult enough. But doing so with the whole world watching? It must have been torture.

That’s what Boeing’s commercial aircraft division was faced with as they rolled out their first new jetliner in decades — the 787 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner was created to be the definitive twenty-first-century passenger jet — the first with a weight-saving all-composite design, the first to replace hydraulics with an electronic fly-by-wire system, the first to power its electrical systems with lithium-ion batteries.

And if you’ve been following the news lately, you know that last item might be a fatal (or at least fateful) Achilles’ heel.

The Dreamliner is now grounded worldwide as Boeing engineers try to figure out why those batteries are overheating. In at least one case, a Dreamliner battery sparked a fire on the tarmac at Boston’s Logan Airport, which took firefighters 40 minutes to extinguish. In a couple of other cases, pilots initiated emergency landings after smelling smoke or receiving automated warnings about electrical problems.

There have been no crashes as a result. No one has been hurt or killed on a Dreamliner. This is the good news.

The bad news is that Boeing’s reputation, and maybe even their ultimate destiny, is caught up with those forlorn grounded jets.

Was there a rush to market? We don’t want to rush to judge. But recognizing that intense pressure, in 2007, 2008, and 2009, as Boeing announced delay after delay, we have to wonder what shortcuts were taken. We’d like to think none. We hope that’s the case.

Boeing has been around since 1916. Their iconic Flying-Fortress and Stratofortress bombers helped save the world from fascism. Their commercial jetliners, from the early 707 to the ubiquitous wide-body 747, have defined the modern age of travel. Air Force One has always been a Boeing aircraft.

It’d be all the more tragic, then, if the Dreamliner failed and brought Boeing to ruin. And it would be tragedy multiplied if we learned it could all be traced to a rush to market.

The pressure to produce can be overwhelming. That pressure can lead to hurried work and imprecision. Depending on the nature of the product, the result can range from embarrassment and financial loss — to the truly horrific.

We honor Boeing and wish them the best. We hope for a perfected Dreamliner and prosperous days ahead for this great American company. Most of all, we hope they’re not fated to become just a cautionary warning, reminding us all to take our time and to get it right.

The C4:

1. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner rolled off the drawing boards in 2007 and flew for the first time in 2009. It entered commercial service in October 2011.
    
2. In the last half of 2012, Boeing started receiving reports of electrical problems with deployed Dreamliners. At least one caught fire. No injuries or deaths resulted, but in January, 2013, Dreamliners were grounded around the world. They remain so at the time of this writing.
    
3. As Boeing engineers focus on problems with the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries, the question is being asked: Did Boeing rush this product to market?
    
4. We don’t know. We hope not. We hope Boeing solves this issue and moves beyond it. Regardless, we’re reminded that rushing is rarely good business strategy. We know that pressure can be hard to resist, but that methodical problem-solving is how masterpieces are created. If Boeing’s designers didn’t realize that when they built the Dreamliner, they’re surely realizing it now.