China Eastern Airlines Unveils New Logo

New logo of China Eastern Airlines

On September 9th, at a lavish ceremony in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines unveiled their new logo and livery to be used to all of their aircraft and uniforms.The new China Eastern logo was designed by the famous Chinese brand consultancy Zhengbang, in early 2014. This is the first time that the airline has changed the livery in its 30 years of operation. The logo change has bought along a much needed image revamp for the Chinese airline. 

The airline has kept the ‘swallow’ as the core element of the logo, alongside the red and blue colors. But unlike the ‘circle-logo’ style from the 80s, the new design has a sleek and modern appearance to it. The swallow’s red head and wings stand for ‘sunrise in the east’, which symbolizes hope, excellence and passion. The blue-colored bird tail means ‘be tolerant to diversity’ and this is used to represent the carrier’s various, inclusive and logical services. China Eastern’s letters, C and E, are also visible in the flying swallow.

The company kept the swallow as the logo, because it is believed the bird can bring good fortune. The swallow traditionally leaves in autumn and comes back in spring, bringing hope and luck with it. 

The new logo has been painted on the airline’s first B777-300ER (pictured below). This aircraft will be delivered to the airline in time for the festive October holiday (first week of October is a national holiday in China). 

While the livery appears to be very simple, boring and somewhat disappointing (the aircraft is all white except the airline titles and the tailfin logo), it is not really surprising because this new trend has been followed by many of the world’s airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa and American Airlines. This design was chosen from a total of 56 final logos submitted by a number of top brand consultancies. The airline plans to have all its aircraft kitted out with the new design by the end of 2019.

Four B777-300ER aircraft will be delivered within this year, and starting from November, the new aircraft will serve the Shanghai - Los Angeles and Shanghai - New York route. By 2018, the airline plans to have a total of 20 B777-300ER aircraft in its fleet.

As well as the logo and livery on the aircraft, China Eastern Airlines also unveiled a new uniform for its cabin crew, pilots and all the ground staff based around the world.

中国东方航空（以下简称“东航”）举行全新VIS(视觉识别系统)发布会，以东航新LOGO、基准品牌色、辅助图形和各类延展应用组成的东航VIS正式亮相，这标志着东航在品牌建设道路上迈出了突破性的一步，以VIS为基础的品牌战略将能切实推动东航转型升级，提升国际化经营能力，构建长远的品牌竞争力。

东航新LOGO保留了原LOGO的核心元素“燕子”，传递了燕子吉祥与和顺的寓意。在此基础上，设计团队重点突破了80年代国内企业普遍采用的圆框设计风格，优化了工业设计痕迹浓重的对称式硬朗线条，以灵动舒展的流畅线型和红蓝品牌基准色，将东航简称（China Eastern）的首字母“CE”与核心视觉元素“燕子”巧妙融为一体，呈现出一只轻盈灵动的“领头燕”振翅高飞，彰显出东航人开拓创新、奋发有为、激情超越的进取精神；飞燕姿态巧妙地勾勒出东航的英文首字母“CE”，更利于受众的识别与记忆，显示了东航持续推动品牌无国界的国际化竞争意识；飞燕的翅膀形如飞架天穹的桥梁，尾翼形如连接天际的彩虹，更形似闻名世界的黄浦江湾，象征着飞行不仅能实现迅速位移，还推动着五湖四海人们的人文情感交融。

2013年初，东航经过慎重评估，决定面向全球优秀设计机构征集VIS设计方案，共获得了34个LOGO方案、56个飞机涂装方案。经过多轮内外部研讨筛选、全集团范围公示，于2013年9月最终确定了新LOGO的设计方案和飞机涂装方案，设计方是为中国移动、百度、“鸟巢”、人民网等提供VI解决方案的正邦品牌顾问服务集团。东航换标工作旨在以新LOGO为核心全面优化东航视觉体系，力求构建一个传承既往、紧跟时尚、充分凸现品牌特质的全新品牌形象，使任何地域、任何语言、任何文化的受众都能轻松认知并喜爱这只来自东方天空的灵动“飞燕”。据悉，东航借鉴了国外航企的普遍做法，将采取成本优先的换标方式，如结合机队涂装的自然更替年限进行“零成本”换装，预计完全更换的周期将长达五年左右。

东航9月下旬正式引进的首架777-300ER飞机将是机队全面“换装”的“领头燕”。新飞机涂装通体纯白，接近法航、汉莎、美国航空等全球大型航空公司主流涂装风格，更为简洁、大气、环保，更加凸显东航的中英文名称及尾翼的新LOGO，也更加契合东航“打造世界一流”的战略目标。据悉，拥有全球独特设计和顶级配置、年内交付4架的东航777-300ER将成为布局公司 “太平洋计划”的主力军。未来三年，东航将重点加密北美航线，力争提升跨太平洋航线竞争能力，以全面升级的软硬件服务为远程航线旅客带来前所未有的旅行体验。从11月份开始，首架777-300ER飞机将正式执飞洛杉矶和纽约航线。2015至2016年还将有10架波音777飞机加入东航机队，意味着东航整个北美地区航线将会全部交由波音777机型执飞。到2018年，20架波音777-300ER飞机全部交付后，东航将成为中国最大的该机型运营商。

(Special thanks to China Eastern Airlines and Zhengbang)

New logo of China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines unveils new logo and uniforms: Photo Copyright China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines unveils new logo and uniforms: Photo Copyright China Eastern Airlines

The first B777-300ER for China Eastern Airlines in the new livery. Seen here landing at the Boeing factory in Seattle, USA:Photo Copyright Royal S. King