40 Most Popular Airline Logos of the World

Feb. 22, 2015

Airline logos are a great example of visual corporate branding and a useful inspiration resource for budding designers. But you don’t have to be a professional designer to have an interest in airline logos. Many people enjoy playing quiz games in which they try to guess as many popular airline logos as possible. By browsing the airline logos in this article, you’ll probably notice some patterns. Many logos feature traditional symbols and national colors. Airline companies love to use motifs of flying and birds in their logos to send a message that you can travel quickly and safely with them. In this article, we have listed the 40 most popular Airline logos to get you going.

Most Popular Airline Logos of the World

When creting a unique and beautiful logo, you need to select the right font. Below are somem articles wheere we have curate beautiful fonts. Don’t forget to check them out after reading this article.

With that out of the way, let’s get to our list of popular airline logos!

Designed in 2006, the logo of Qatar Airways features a burgundy oryx on a grey background. Oryx is the national animal of Qatar, and its color in the logo matches the color of Qatar’s flag. The name of the airline is written in English, while the Arabic letters spell out the word “Al Qataria”.

EgyptAir’s logo is inspired by the ancient Egyptian mythology, from which it draws the image of Horus, or rather his head. Usually depicted as a man’s body with a falcon’s head, Horus was known as the god of sun, or “Sky god”, so it makes sense that he’s part of an airline logo. EgyptAir has been using this logo since July 2008.

The logo of Japan Airlines (JAL) was designed in 1958 by Jerry Huff. Called “tsurumaru” (“crane circle”), the logo represents a Japanese crane with extended wings. The red color of the logo symbolizes happiness. The idea for the logo came from Japanese tradition, which views the crane as a symbol of long life, prosperity and good health. In the myth of the crane, it is said that the bird can fly high and very long without getting tired, which makes it a perfect symbol for an airline company.

SriLankan Airlines’ logo features a stylized, colorful peacock and an unconventional but elegant typeface. It was revealed as a part of a major rebranding project in 1999. According to Sri Lankan folk tales, a flying machine similar to a peacock once existed, and it was called the Dandu Monara Yanthra. It’s possible that this mythical creature inspired the airline logo. However, a more realistic explanation would be the fact that peacocks are a native species in Sri Lanka.

The Emirates logo was created by Negus & Negus Associates in 1985. It’s a simple red-on-white logo with intricate Arabic lettering and the company’s name written in English below it. The red color symbolizes prosperity, leadership, passion and self-confidence, while the white stands for elegance, purity, and nobility.

Air India’s logo represents a red flying swan with the wheel of Konark sun temple painted in orange on the swan’s spread-out wing. The colors symbolize vigor and progress, and the Konark wheel is believed to be from the chariot of the sun god. The logo was designed by DMA Branding in 2007.

Apart from the logo, Air India also has a mascot called the Maharajah, which was created by Bobby Kooka and Umesh Rao in 1946 and recently modified to look less traditional and more modern and hipster-ish.

Cathay Dragon’s logo, as you can see, looks identical to Cathay Pacific’s logo. Unlike Cathay Pacific’s logo, which is blue, Cathay Dragon has a red logo. It was created by branding agency called Landor Associate, and it features the same “brushwing” symbol that represents the wing of a bird. Cathay Dragon was previously known as Dragonair, and it’s logo featured a red dragon.

The uninformed would say that Korean Air’s logo looks like the Pepsi logo. However, its inspiration is purely traditional and much older than the USA itself, let alone Pepsi. The symbol in the logo is called Taegeuk, and it stands for the “ultimate reality from which everything is derived”. It’s also a part of the South Korean flag. Korean Air’s logo was designed in 1984.

Aer Lingus is an Irish airline company with a logo that dates back to 1938, when the original shamrock symbol was designed by Robert Logan. Shamrock (young clover) is generally considered to be the Irish national symbol, and it’s connected to the legend of Saint Patrick who used a clover to explain the Holy Trinity to the non-Christian Irish people. The current logo of Aer Lingus was created in 1996, and because of its slanted look it’s often called “The Drunken Shamrock”, which invokes the Irish drinking stereotype.

The logo of Mexicana was designed by a Danish agency called Design:Success in 2008. The blue symbol represents an eagle and reflects stability and consistency. The typeface is a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, which gives the logo an eye-catching appearance.

Ryanair’s logo dates back to 1987. After some changes over the years, today it features a yellow symbol and bold, white letters. The symbol is a combination of an angel and a harp, which is one of the traditional Irish instruments and an important part of the culture.

British Airways still has the famous “Speedmarque” logo which was designed by Newell & Sorrell in 1997 and inspired by the old “Speedbird” symbol used by British air forces before the World War II. The logo comprises the airline company name written in blue letters and a red- and blue-colored ribbon shape above them.

The AeroMexico logo was created in 1994. It depicts the head of an Aztec eagle warrior, also called cuāuhtli. In the Aztec society, eagles were considered symbols of the Sun, and eagle warriors were among the most respected and fearsome members of the army. The airlines say that the Eagle Knight emblem in their logo is inspired by the ancient culture of Mexico.

The Delta Airlines logo, also known as “the widget logo”, was designed by Lippincott Mercer and introduced in April 2007. It’s a red triangle that evokes the Greek letter “D” (“delta”) and while simple, it looks three-dimensional thanks to clever positioning and shading of its elements.

Jet Airways’ logo is called the “Flying Sun”, and it was designed by K. V. Sridhar in 1992. It represents an airplane’s tail leaving speed lines with the Sun in the background. The first time this logo was painted on an aircraft, a mistake was made and the logo was inverted on the tail.

Qantas uses a kangaroo symbol that was inspired by the Australian one-penny coin. It first appeared in January 1947. The current version of the logo, also called “The Flying Kangaroo”, was created by Hans Hulsbosch in July 2007.

The Singapore Airline’s logo depicts a bird that’s inspired by a silver kris, a dagger from Southeast Asia prominently featured in the region’s myth and folklore. The logo is said to be designed by a US-based insignia company, and it was selected from 200 proposals during SQ’s early days.

After the Iran National Airline was registered as a national company (and the name was changed to IranAir), a competition was announced in Kayhan and Ettelaat newspapers in 1961 in search of a new logo. The logo which is currently being used by the airline was created by a young Iranian who won the competition. He took inspiration of Homa, the Persian mythological griffin.

Garuda Indonesia’s logo hasn’t changed in years. Much like a lot of other airlines in the list, Garuda Indonesia has also chosen a flying object (a bird, in this case) as its motif. Despite Ga lot of tinkering, the logo itself has remained virtually unchanged. The current design, in my opinion, looks a lot cleaner and has a modern look.

The Air New Zealand’s logo is the Māori symbol for a ‘Koru’ that signifies new life, growth and strength, and peace. The symbol of ‘Koru’ is an integral part of Māori art, carving, and tattoos.

Founded in 1993, Hainan Airlines’ logo is unique in its own right. What makes this logo stand out isthe combination of many notable elementslike the wings of the golden Gauda (a mythological bird that’s quite popular in China) and its golden horn as well as the auspicious clouds. Due to these different elements coupled with a timeless design, the logo has got cult status.

Sporting a modern-looking design, Malaysia Airlines makes its presence felt with ease. The logo has takeninspiration from the 1971 original logo. The way bulan aka moon kite faces from left to right and features a bit longer tails than its predecessor. The wordmark has also got a refresh with a new typeface and the word “airlines” is now displayed in the lowercase. Going by the popularity, the latest look appears more striking than the previous.

Another airline’s logo that has found a safe spot in this extensive roundup is from SriLankan Airlines. Launched in 1979, it’s by far thelargest airline in Sri Lanka. As for the design, it sports a colorful peacock and its name has been written in a beautiful typeface. Inspired by a mythical creature called Dandu Monara Yanthra in the country, the logo has struck an appealing chord with the natives.

That ends our article on the best airline logos that you can get inspired from. Check out these logos and use the design language that speaks to you. Remember to not blatantly copy any logo. These are here just to inspire you.

Ivana Isadora is a freelance writer and translator working in English, Croatian and Swedish. She’s a Linux user & KDE fan interested in web design, startups, and personal branding. She loves discovering new apps and presenting them to the world.