New Roo

The airline says the new livery is only the fifth to be introduced since the kangaroo first appeared on Qantas aircraft in 1944, and the first livery refresh since 2007 ahead of the Airbus A380’s introduction into service the following year.

“A fresh brand helps symbolise the new era Qantas is entering as we head towards our centenary. It’s an era of new destinations, new technology and a new standard of service,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said on October 27.

The new design was overseen by industrial designer Marc Newson in partnership with Australian design agency Houston Group.

“This new brand is more streamlined and the shading behind the kangaroo gives a better sense of movement and depth. A silver band now extends from the tail to the rear of the fuselage, to give a more premium feel,” Newson said.

“The typography for the word Qantas, which measures almost two metres high on the 787, has been carefully streamlined. And Qantas will appear on the aircraft’s belly, so you can tell when it’s the national carrier flying overhead. ” The first aircraft to be repainted in the new livery, A330-300 VH-QPJ, was unveiled to guests and media at an event at Qantas’s Jet Base at Sydney Airport where the airline also unveiled first details of its 787-9 cabin configuration (see separate feature article).

“We’ve been working on this for over a year . . . and I’m absolutely amazed it’s remained a secret until now,” Joyce said.

The new livery appears to meet a number of objectives. For example, in this age of social media, the design adds “the kangaroo to the inside curved edge of the wingtips so that they are visible in-flight and meaning they will also appear in pictures people take out the aircraft windows,” Qantas says.

There’s a nod to history with “re-introducing the iconic ‘winged kangaroo’ that featured on Qantas tails in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s by placing it under the cockpit window and integrating it with the aircraft name currently in this position”. Qantas notes that aircraft names will remain unchanged.

Then there is adding a ‘Qantas’ title to the aircraft’s underbelly “for increased visibility when aircraft are flying overhead”.

And Qantas says the new design has a “more premium feel”, thanks to a silver band that “has been added to the rear of the aircraft, flowing from the tail through to the rear of the fuselage”.

If reader comments on the Australian Aviation website story on the livery launch are anything to go by, the new “streamlined kangaroo on the tail of the aircraft, with shading to give it a sense of depth and movement” is proving controversial, as in the process of being streamlined the flying kangaroo has lost its paws Also streamlined is the “new, slimmer font for the word ‘Qantas’ on the side of the aircraft”.

Then there is an enlarged new kangaroo logo which appears on engine cowls “so that it is more prominent and identifiable”.

Unchanged is the “classic ‘Qantas red’ and white of the fuselage”, Qantas says.

The new design will gradually appear across the Qantas network, starting with digital assets, signage and advertising, the airline said.

“Updating branding on aircraft will be sequenced with scheduled re-paints, to be completed in time for the airline’s centenary in 2020,” Qantas says.

That promises a very quick aircraft repaint program, especially since a number of aircraft in the Qantas fleet still wear the pre-2007 livery first introduced with the Boeing 747-300 in 1984.

Interestingly the 2007 livery was developed by Hans Hulsboch, who worked closely on the design with then Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti. Hulsboch would go on to work with Borghetti to develop the Virgin Australia rebrand which launched in 2010.

Qantas says introducing a new livery with a new aircraft type has become a tradition for the airline.

“It’s a tradition that goes back to the Lockheed Constellation in 1947, the Boeing 747-300 in 1984 and the A380 in 2007,” Joyce said. “A fresh brand helps symbolise the new era Qantas is entering as we head towards our centenary. ”