Air India's iconic mascot 'Maharajah' may take a back seat amid rebranding: Report

Air India's iconic mascot, the Maharajah, may take a back seat and get a new role as the Tata Group embarks on a long-awaited revamp of the national carrier's brand, a media report said.

The airline is likely to continue using the Maharajah image for its airport lounges and premium classes but it won't be used as a mascot, The Economic Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The over 76-year-old Maharajah logo was designed back in 1946.

Furthermore, the airline will also get new livery that will feature red, white and purple, the report said. While red and white are Air India's colours, the purple will be derived from the livery of Vistara.

The Tata Group announced the consolidation of its airlines - Vistara and Air India. The transaction is estimated to be completed by March 2024. Tata Sons had acquired a 100 per cent stake in Air India on January 27, 2022, through its fully-owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited.

London-based brand and design consultancy firm FutureBrand has been hired to redraw Air India's branding strategy, the ET report stated. The new branding is likely to be unveiled in August.

Earlier, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, had informed about the complete revamp of Air India.

“The transformation is happening in human resources. We have completely revamped the technology. We are revamping engineering and ground handling. The entire fleet will get changed. We have made one of the biggest [aircraft] orders. And that’s a very bold bet!” Chandrasekaran stated during a candid interaction with Business Today magazine’s editor Sourav Majumdar at the BT Mindrush & BT Best CEOs Awards event in Mumbai.

He said that Air India’s ability to operate flights to any destination in the world was only limited by its fleet size and the overall aviation infrastructure. Otherwise, the demand for international flights from India was humongous. This led them to reduce the number of flights from the time Tata group acquired the airline from the government in January 2022.

Also Read: Go First test flights successful; airline to resume operations soon