Korean Air's new look: Modern, glittery and darker blue

Home > Business > Industry

Korean Air's new look: Modern, glittery and darker blue

Published: 11 Mar. 2025, 18:29 Updated: 12 Mar. 2025, 18:38

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A Korean Air aircraft with a new logo and livery at a hanger in Busan [KOREAN AIR]

Korean Air unveiled a new logo and refreshed livery Tuesday, 41 years after its last redo, as it steps into a new chapter of corporate branding ahead of its merger with Asiana Airlines.

Ditching the classic baby-blue-white combo, the airline’s fuselage incorporates two tones of darker blue and silver stripes, giving it a contemporary and sleeker look.

The logo now just shows shades of blue transparently, also dropping the vibrant blue and red colors signifying taegeuk, or yin and yang, a traditional Korean symbol.

It’s the first time the country’s flag carrier has updated its logo and livery in the 41 years since 1984, a year after a navigation error caused a Boeing 747 to mistakenly stray into Soviet airspace, leading to a shootdown that killed all 269 people on board.

Walter Cho, CEO and chairman of Korean Air, introduces the company's new logo and livery during a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on March 11. [KOREAN AIR]

New identity, new meals
The dark blue color with thinner letters, along with the transparent taeguek sign on the tail, offers a much more polite and static vibe, taking minimalism to heart.

It applied mica, or pearl, effects on the blue part, which makes the jet shiny and bright even on dark nights.

The side of the aircraft now says “Korean,” replacing the signature “Korean Air,” perhaps decided in consideration of the carrier's upcoming merger with Asiana.

The size of the lettering has doubled, Korean Air said, underscoring its confidence in becoming one of the world’s top 10 megacarriers.

From top, Korean Air aircraft with the previous logo and livery, and the new logo and livery. [KOREAN AIR]

The underside of the aircraft is white, compared to gray in the previous fuselage, which may remind some of the Netherlands’ KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and British TUI Airways.

“I anticipate this change of the three-year project could play a pivotal role in our journey to merge with Asiana, to realize our goal of making a safe carrier that can be loved by all,” said Korean Air CEO and Chairman Walter Cho during a news conference Tuesday at the company’s headquarters in Gangseo District, western Seoul.

Korean Air also upgraded in-flight meals, with an upscaled and diversified menu developed by chef Kim Sea-kyeong.

For first-class passengers, it has added amuse-bouche, or a small dish served before appetizers, as a course, with a focus on seasonal dishes. For economy passengers, the flagship bibimbap menu has been upgraded to offer more Korean traditional fried rice as options including salmon bibimbap or stir-friend pork and octopus with rice.

Korean Air's new corporate identity [KOREAN AIR]

Why overhaul at this moment?
The new livery and logo will represent the soon-to-be combined airline in two years as Korean Air currently undergoes the integration process with Asiana after the acquisition in December.

The changes will be applied to Korean Air aircraft first and then will be installed on the Asiana fleet starting in 2026 when the merger is complete, Cho said. An integrated uniform will be revealed by that time.

Cho also said he would soon announce a mileage ratio that will be “understandable to all customers.”

A Korean Air aircraft with a new logo and livery. [KOREAN AIR]

Mileage has been one of the nettlesome tasks before the full integration, as Korean Air’s mileage tends to be more costly to earn than Asiana's. Korean Air has until mid-June to submit thorough plans to the Fair Trade Commission.

“We will adjust Asiana staff’s salaries and welfare to the level of Korean Air's step by step and will never prioritize any side in the process,” Cho said. “We acknowledge all the concerns that customers have but can promise them that we won’t have any price increase in flight rates or a fall in service quality.”

The merger of Korea’s two full-fledged carriers may place Korean Air among the world's top 10 airlines, above Japan Airlines, with a total of 238 aircraft and 27,500 employees.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]