Great point that changing the entire brand is an expensive exercise. In the long run, the savings on the livery will be substantial, but they are spending like crazy up front to implement it.

I think US Airways did one of the best jobs of brand refreshing with the America West merger. They realized that the old colors needed a change for symbolic as well as practical reasons. That black paint heated up the interior like an oven on hot southwestern summer days. So they went with a new livery that also symbolized the new airline.

Most importantly for cost savings, though, they kept the same logo and typeface even though the planes were colored differently. That meant that just about everything from the old US Airways could still be used for the new airline without having to change everything around. It still was a new look for the airline, but the cost was minimal compared to what Delta is facing now.

Though I’m glad they’re thinking about cutting costs with this new livery and logo, isn’t it going to cost more than keeping it the way it is? Is this just a well-planned PR move to commemorate the whole out of bankruptcy thing, or will it actually help cut costs? After all, they’re going to have to paint all existing planes and update signage at all airports. I know that in Atlanta, they just completed a huge renovation of the check-in area as well as many of the gates. New signs and logos would require so much effort and work that I don’t see how it could be termed “cutting costs.”

Nevertheless, I’m glad they’re out of bankruptcy!