Virgin744 From United States of America, joined Nov 1999, 903 posts, RR: 5 Reply 1, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 719 times:
I think its for 2 main reasons really;
Firstly, believe it or not, hardly anyone (Joe Public) likes it, especially the Ex- Prime Minister M.Thatcher. - In fact, it was probably the worst launch BA could have hoped for, as when it was unveiled by M.Thatcher in front of the Chairman & the awaiting cameramen from aroun d the globe, she pulled off the hanky covering the mini-Concorde sporting the new livery & said, "oh, it looks repulsive" or something like that, & to everyone's amazement, said, "I think it looks better like that" & put the hanky back on the plane, covering the tail!!!
Talk about blunt!
And the second reason apart from it not being well-received, was that a lot of air traffic controllers around the world complained of not being able to recognise that airline.
Hope that answers your question, I'm sure there are a few other reasons, but I believe these are the main reasons.
BA744 From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2000, 169 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 712 times:
They are already on their way out.
I think the only one that will remain will be Chelsea Rose.
Shame really, I quite liked some of them (they should keep the tartan as well), and this was one of the boldest and riskiest moves that an airline has taken in some time (IMHO). Shame it didn't pay off.
Udo From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 709 times:
I can't hear those stories any more.
1. Who the .... cares about Thatcher? Is she the national guardian or Britain itself?
2. Traffic controlers not able to identify BA aircraft? In such a case a controller should change on and load cargo into the aircraft.
Even I can identify any BA livery, and I'm just an enthusiast.
What about all those aircraft in pure white livery on delivery or ferry? There doesn't even stand a name on. How do they identify those? Or all those boring same-looking white liveries with more than little variation on the tail?
3. Union Flag as "the proud flag"
The so-called "proud flag" is the Union Jack itself, not any mixup of two colours, looking like a used napkin flying through the air incidently.
Sorry for that hard words, but I loved the coloured tails and I can't believe how primitive national arguments forced out a wonderful idea of displaying the world by its art. People seem not to be ready yet for such ideas. What a pity!
Trident From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2000, 484 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 691 times:
I was against the multi-coloured tails right from the beginning, but not for patriotic reasons - I'm Irish so flying the red white and blue was not a great issue for me. However, from a commercial point of view I reckoned from the start that logic behind the idea was muddled, to say the least. Why do businesses consider branding, logos and image so important? Why are large corporations prepared to spend a fortune (and do) advertising and protecting their image and reinforcing it at all opportunities? Most businesses who have built up a strong brand image change their logos only very slowly, if at all. The BA change was too much too soon.
The reason why they are changing back to a more "normal" scheme is purely commercial. Their financial performance has taken a dive and the board has reasoned that the "World Inage" fiasco was a strong contributory factor (there were others) to this decline in profitability.
Bacardi182 From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 1088 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 679 times:
i loved the variations on the tails. i'm not so upset that they replaced it but i am upset with what replaced it, a boring all white livery. i think BA should return their original livery but with a few updates.
Laserjet From New Zealand, joined Apr 2000, 193 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 659 times:
A change in the guard!
The livery change in the mid-late 90's was pushed by Bob Ayling - who was quickly ousted last month. Lord Marshall is acting CEO again, so maybe the livery change is part of the re-building that BA are undergoing, after some recent turbulence.
Daddy1 From Australia, joined Apr 2000, 57 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 6 hours ago) and read 651 times:
you have to say that the new ba livery is breathtaking and has added some much needed colour to the skys. what gets me going is the american livery schemes like american airlines its just so boring, go on ba keep them.
Ctbarnes From United States of America, joined Mar 2000, 3491 posts, RR: 52 Reply 13, posted (13 years 1 month 1 week 1 hour ago) and read 645 times:
I'm inclined to agree with Trident. Although I like the tail designs very much, from a corporate identity standpoint it was a disaster. Part of BA's public image is that it is, well, British. The "World Tails" ignored this reality, confusing their customers and the wider public in the process as to what BA's identitiy is supposed to be. Pity Bob Ayling and BA's Marketing department didn't do their homework.
P.S. I'd get rid of the Chelsea Rose tail as well. As someone else commented, it looks like someone threw a rock at a stained glass window.
Charles
The customer isn't a moron, she is your wife -David Ogilvy
LH423 From Canada, joined Jul 1999, 6501 posts, RR: 55 Reply 14, posted (13 years 1 month 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 631 times:
I have to say that overall, I really disliked the World Images. Most made the plane look unfinished, in some psycological sense. My least favourites were the ones that supposedly represented Germany, Denmark, Hong Kong, Australia (both of them), South Africa, the Air Liberté colours, the Deutsche BA colours, Ireland, and England. My, that's an extensive list. However, my favourites are numbered to just three: the Netherlands (Delftblauwe Dageraad), Scotland (Benyhone), and, thankfully they decided to kepp this one, United Kingdom (Union Flag).
Personally, I thought there was just too many, and most were rather ugly. I think it was a marketing blunder, and I think that in a few years, when most colours have been weeded out, we can focus on the next BA colour scheme, fun!
LH423
« On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux » Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
BY285A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 15, posted (13 years 1 month 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 618 times:
Hi
Well, the reasons are various:
1. The public didn't like them, and BA's profits were dropping, and they were losing many passengers because of it (supposedly)
2. Poloticians didn't like them: Margaret Thatcher, former PM of the UK famously placed a handkerchief over a model of the new livery on a 747, dissmissing it as "dreadful" much to the dismay of BA officials
3. BA were mai9ing losses, and Virgin Atlantic were now promoting themselves as Britains flag carrier, so BA needed to give the public something they would like, so they put the Union Flag on their aircrafts tails again.
Eg777er From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2000, 1829 posts, RR: 13 Reply 16, posted (13 years 1 month 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 620 times:
One of the main reasons for changing the tails in the first place was that Interbrand Newland & Sorrel (BA's marketing people) got hold of some figures that said that over 80% of BA passengers are not British.
This is absolutely true.
They then reasoned that they should become more 'world' orientated, hence the creation of the images (they even considered dropping "British" from the name). Ayling also wanted to put his mark on the airline.
However, what IBN and the BA management at the time didn't realise is that the reason people fly BA is becuase it's BRITISH. It brings all the things you'd expect from Britain - class, reliability and good service. Therefore, when they dropped this, they alienated a lot of their passengers (particularly US Biz class pax - very high yield).
It's very surprising that the BA management didn't think of this, as 99% of people in the airline will tell you this is what everyone knows! Yet another example of a management that has completely lost touch with both its staff, and more importantly, its customers!
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