Air New ZealandCopied

Air New Zealand's name had been set in capitals based on Adobe's Trajan since 1996, Kris Sowersby explains, "altered slightly" in 2006, with an oversized first A and the koru placed so the whole logo "alludes to the side-profile of a jet."

On 20 July 2012 chief executive Rob Fyfe announced that new aircraft would have black tails and that "the lettering of the Air New Zealand name is being modernised." "Our iconic symbol, the Koru, will remain but it will be set within our national colour rather than the blue and green tones on our tails today," he said. The airline had already started using black "ahead of the All Blacks' campaign last year."

The lettering was drawn by Sowersby of Klim Type Foundry with the agency Designworks, to a brief for "a wordmark that reflects an innovative, modern company but projects our history, credibility and with a timeless elegance." He submitted "about 45 concepts." The chosen italic capitals keep the big A and the koru position, "retaining the familiar side-on jet profile." On the koru itself: "The koru was — and still is — sacrosanct. It was not to change."

The release said the new lettering would be rolled out across "all our signage and communications channels by the end of the year," with the black tails following on new aircraft from 2013.

Customers were less sure. Corporate Eye reported that "consumers aren't happy" and wanted "the old blue and green color palette that reminded them of the ocean," though it judged the new type "an improvement." The NZ Herald front page read "Black future for Air New Zealand," and AirportSpotting wrote: "Gone are the blues."