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Not Out
The latest revision to the crane logo comes,
rather fittingly, on its 100th birthday. The design
was originally created by Otto Firle in 1918 and
was worn on aircraft of Germany’s first airline,
Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR). It was subse-
quently transferred to successor Deutsche
Luft Hansa on its launch in 1926, and then to
Lufthansa following its reformation in 1954.
Commenting on the redesign, spearheaded by
the airline’s in-house designer Ronald Wild, the
German flag carrier said: “On the occasion of
the 100th anniversary of the crane, every detail
of the design was reworked – to meet require-
ments of the digital age. The new Lufthansa
appearance gives the individual elements a new,
modern quality to sharpen their impact. The
designers found great importance in taking up
the unique design tradition of the Lufthansa
brand and leading it into the future.”Blue is the Colour
of the airline’s key brand elements].”
The colour has been retained, albeit
in a more muted form. On the aircraft,
it is limited to a small ‘welcome/signa-
ture panel’ adjacent to the forward port-
side cabin door, though it continues to
feature on branded boarding passes,
check-in areas and staff uniforms.Elsewhere, the carrier has adopted a
darker, “more elegant” shade of blue –
selected from six possible options
trialled on a testbed aircraft during the
development phase – which covers
the tailfin and now wraps around the
rear fuselage. The airline has also done
away with the previously grey under-
side and engine cowlings in favour of
an all-white livery.
“The new Lufthansa blue is the
Lufthansa Group’s main colour,” the
carrier explained. “White ensures
lightness and an independent
appearance. Yellow complements
the colour palette.”
The carrier has also introduced subtle
changes to its typeface, adopting a new
font developed in-house for use on all
corporate branding and even aircraft
registrations.
Inside the cabin, the airline has
revamped crew uniforms and accesso-
ries, including tableware, amenity kits
and pillow cases. It plans to exchange
more than 160 million branded
accessories over the next two years
as the revised design is rolled out.Boeing 747-8 D-ABYA
(c/n 37827) was among
the first aircraft to wear
the new livery. This
includes a darker shade
of blue on the tailfin
and wrapped around
the rear fuselage, while
the previously grey
undersides and engine
cowlings are now all
white. The most notable
change is a revised
crane logo, which
dispenses with the
iconic ‘Lufthansa yellow’
backdrop in favour of a
simplified white on blue
arrangement.The German flag
carrier unveiled its
new livery to more than
3,000 guests at launch
events at its Frankfurt
and Munich hubs.
ALL PHOTOS LUFTHANSA