A New Contemporary Look For Air Canada's Fleet

Montreal, October 19, 2004 — Air Canada today unveiled a new contemporary look for its fleet, inside and out. Air Canada's updated new look conveys fundamental changes for customers and employees. The new livery features fresh clean lines and lighter colours; a more modern look with added energy that reflects Air Canada's approach to streamlining customer service and developing innovative products through simplification.

"The strength of Air Canada's brand and red maple leaf is recognized world wide. In redesigning the livery, we wanted to leverage the existing strengths while communicating a new Air Canada — more flexible, more dynamic, more contemporary," said Claude Salzberger, Creative Director for FutureBrand Worldwide, the company hired to design the livery, and one of the original designers involved in the carrier's last complete makeover in 1994. "The industry has moved away from a pure corporate look to one that is closer to the customer, and that is what we have achieved with the new livery. We've taken advantage of the latest technology in paint, masks and decals. This couldn't have been created ten years ago. The technology just wasn't there."

The restyling includes a new and innovative design that mixes art and technology to reflect the unique and dynamic personality of the airline. The design showcases a new expression of the familiar red maple leaf and plays with a refreshed palette of colors to integrate the aircraft's exterior and create an overall more comfortable in-flight experience. Air Canada's refreshed colour palette embodies the nature of Canada: Canadian Red, Silver Sky, Forest Mist, Maple Red, Pacific Blue and Arctic Green.

An evolution of the natural leaf design in use today, the new tail features a dynamic red maple leaf that captures the plane's energy when in motion and changing light conditions. The Air Canada Maple Leaf in Canadian Red is complemented by a graphic dot pattern representation called the “Frosted Leaf.” Rendered in Forest Mist green, it is designed to evoke the natural freshness of a Canadian forest after the first frost. The artistic expression of the new design is countered with technology: An innovative, iridescent paint is used to accentuate the aircraft's aerodynamic lines and integrate tail and fuselage. The overall design, the first of its kind, challenges the established language of aircraft livery design, while retaining the qualities inherent in a flag carrier.

The new cabin interior emphasizes the airline's dedication to innovation and attention to detail as well. Guiding the design of all cabin furnishings, from seat covers to blankets, the new design seeks to lighten the cabin and enrich the passenger's experience. Proprietary seat fabrics, carpets and curtains incorporate crisp textures and a luminous color palette. The new, lie flat executive class seat is upholstered in a fabric that makes the pattern unique to every seat, another first of its kind.

FutureBrand, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG), is a global strategic branding firm with 21 offices in 17 countries. The firm's fundamental business proposition is to help companies, globally and locally, to connect their brands to tomorrow's profit drivers. FutureBrand provides expertise, tools and integrated services in corporate identity, brand design, brand innovation, brand analytics, brand valuation, packaging, branded environments, customer-driven e-strategy, interactive/digital branding and interactive Web design. Clients include Microsoft, Unilever, GM, GlaxoSmithKline, AT&T, UPS, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and others.

While the restyling of Air Canada's corporate identity is set to provide continuity, it also marks a new chapter in the airline's history. Other initiatives being undertaken by Air Canada include the introduction of leading edge in-flight product enhancements, the design of new uniforms, the launch of new ad campaigns and a fleet renewal program for its North American fleet that will facilitate the introduction of new frequencies and routes.