Oman Air unveiled a new look in the first week of March, 2008. Gone were the red and green colors, as well as the “khanjar”, which have all been part of the livery ever since the airline’s inception, 15 years ago. In came a “contemporary rendition of Frankincense smoke”, with silver, gold and sober blue colors. The main reason cited for the revamp the expansion of Oman Air into long haul travel, which soon will include cities like Beirut, Zanzibar, Darussalam and Mumbasa in June (which still sounds is regional), and Europe in the future.
I think that with this re-branding effort, they’re stuck in the middle - not too contemporary, while tryin to blend in the tradition. A simply case of trying too hard? Ironically, officials went on the record that “khanjar” was “not viewed as a friendly image” in the West. Now, how is the smoke from an incense friendlier? Unless, of course, they smoke up the cabin to smell like Frankincense. Some reasons why switching to Frankenstein Frankincense smoke wasn’t such a great idea: Read the rest of this entry »
