From the embers of Norwegian’s long-haul ambitions comes a new LCC determined to pick up where the now much smaller airline left off. Today saw the grand reveal of the carrier’s new brand image and livery, which will be sure to get investors excited prior to the anticipated Spring 2022 launch.
“We strongly believe that there is a need for a new and innovative airline serving the low-cost intercontinental market with modern, more environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient aircraft as the world gradually reopens. Our plans are on track and operations will commence when travel restrictions are lifted and demand for transatlantic travel is back,” said CEO Bjørn Tore Larsen.
“Based on the current situation, we anticipate that all our 15 Dreamliners will be flying customers between Europe and the U.S. next summer. We will launch our ticket sales approximately three months prior to first flight and will offer exciting destinations that have proven to be attractive,” Larsen added.
The logo design was designed to reflect the longships which are part of Nordic history, which is a fairly understandable base to start from. The designs were formed by a small internal team at the airline. We have to applaud the team for the effort, and the end result is acceptable, however there are what seems a few standard pitfalls which hopefully will be ironed out as the brand evolves.
Our take
Firstly it’s clear the design has been created with a livery-first approach. The logo specifically fits the empennage, with clear tail-offs of the design as it flows down the fuselage. Usually logos are designed with purely the tail in mind, and this translates well to digital and print because the tail fin is roughly rectangular which is easier to place on a grid.
The logo itself is fairly straightforward, however the varying widths of the ‘bow form’ of the logo created clearly with bezier curves need a bit more finesse, and the ends to the logo seem a little unfinished.
We do however like the the Norse typeface, with the not to Runic typography, which is a modern reflection of the ancient roots the carrier is trying to embrace. Funnily enough, Finnair’s ‘F’ on the tail also reflects Longships, something often overlooked on such a modern contemporary design.
Norse’s livery itself is pleasant, friendly and modern, and looks like if Air Transat, WestJet, Corsair and Finnair all had a love child. And actually that’s exactly where the carrier sits from a brand perspective, it’s a low cost carrier flying transatlantic with its stall firmly set in the Nordic area.
It has the playful softer lines of Air Transat, the boat-like symbolism of Corsair and brand visual weighting of WestJet, with an extended curved tail line and bold typeface acting as a visual counterbalance. Although we do wish the flynorse.com text wasn’t on the livery – it’s not really necessary anymore – and still an echo from the era of easyJet.com’s launch (even they don’t have their website on their aircraft anymore)
Simply put, this livery is pretty much what we were expecting, and it’s perfectly acceptable. Could it be improved? Sure, but considering this was done by an internal team with no real experience in airline branding, it comes as a surprising triumph. We look forward to seeing how the brand continues to grow and evolve as the airline looks to take to the skies, after all a brand is more than just a livery and logo.
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Some might have expected that their livery would be based on Norwegian – but it’s probably a good idea that they take a fresh start with no references to their predecessor.
I agree that the ‘flynorse.com’ detracts from the otherwise attractive livery.