From Turkish Airlines to Virgin Blue, Why These 10 Airlines Changed Names
Turkish Airlines was forced to rebrand under its Turkish name. Photo: iStock
Changing a company name is a big deal. And the bigger the company, the more millions will have to spend to make sure potential customers know who you are. For airlines, customer trust is very important, so changing the name is very dangerous. That didn’t stop Turkish Airlines, which would begin the process – but the airline’s previous rebranding had mixed results.
Turkish airlines
The Turkish president has decided that the whole world should call his country Türkiye. And, as part of that effort, Turkish Airlines was forced to rebrand itself with its Turkish name. The long process of painting “Türk Hava Yolları” on the plane has begun. Whether customers will use this heavier name remains to be seen… Check out turkishairlines.com
Huff Daland Dusters
Delta Air Lines at Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah. Photo: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg
Huff Daland Dusters was a pioneer in 1928 when it launched the world’s first air plant cleaning operation in Macon, Georgia. It expanded in the Mississippi Delta, changing its name to Delta Air Services in 1928.
There have been a few minor name changes since then, and several takeovers of other airlines. The plant cleaning service has become Delta Air Lines, one of the aviation giants, running more than 5,000 flights a day. See delta.com
Katafaga Estates Ltd
A Fiji Air Pacific Boeing 737-800 airplane on the tarmac at Nadi International Airport, Fiji. Photo: Alamy
Fiji Airways came into existence in 1947, named after a coconut plantation. It was wisely renamed Fiji Airways in 1951, and has that name today. What is unusual in this case, however, is that it is an airline brand that has switched back. When Fiji became independent in 1970, the new government wanted to play on the airline’s regional trust, and that became Air Pacific. The decision took 42 years to overturn. See fijiairways.com
Alia
Jordanian Airline ‘Alia’ flight attendant uniform in 1971. Photo: Alamy
What’s the point of being king if you can’t name her after your eldest daughter? That’s what King Hussein of Jordan did in 1963. The flag bearer boldly attached a name that didn’t refer to the country where he was based for 23 years. Unfortunately, this is no longer the airline named after a seven-year-old girl – now the rather boring Royal Jordanian. See rj.com
Malayan Airways
Photo: RuthAS / Wikimedia Commons
Malayan Airways started life with a route from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in 1947. The first name change, to Malaysian Airways, came into effect when the Federation of Malaysia was founded in 1963. But when Singapore was expelled from the Federation in 1965, the name needed to be changed again – the airline is now is Malaysia-Singapore Airlines. In 1972, it was split into two separate operations, with the new Singapore Airlines brand focusing on international flights. It works pretty well – Singapore Airlines is consistently considered to offer one of the best passenger experiences in the sky. See singaporeair.com
Tasman Empire Airways Limited
Photo: Jon Proctor / Wikimedia Commons
TEAL, as it is better known, started by offering services across the Tasman Sea. But it became most famous for its flying boat service to the Pacific Islands. After a joint venture between the Australian and New Zealand governments, the Kiwis bought the Aussies in 1961, changing the name to the much less expensive Air New Zealand four years later. See airnewzealand.com.au
All American Flights
Allegheny Airlines. Photo: Alamy
Founded to deliver mail from Pittsburgh in 1937, All American Aviation grew to become one of the largest airlines in the world. It became Allegheny Airlines in 1953, then USair in 1979 and US Airways in 1997. But expansion became unsustainable in the 2000s, with US Airways regularly teasing bankruptcy. It was eventually swallowed up by American Airlines, with all US Airways brands slowly being erased. See aa.com
Siberia Airlines
Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt / Wikimedia Commons
Perhaps realizing that the prospects of Siberia are not very attractive to passengers, Siberia Airlines has changed its name to S7 Airlines. It’s a rebranding that went pretty well before the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The rebranding, which reflected Moscow being the main hub instead of Novosibirsk, took place in 2005. The S7 then joined the One World Alliance in 2010. However, because sanctions had been imposed on Russia, the S7 was forced to cancel all international flights. View s7.ru
Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service
The original office is in Longreach, Queensland. Photo: Hudson Fysh / Wikimedia Commons
Yeah, that’s quite a mouthful, isn’t it? And it’s no wonder Australia’s largest airline is quickly recognized by its abbreviation. It was formalized with international flights in 1935, when the new Qantas Empire Airways was launched from Brisbane to Singapore. The royal connotation was dropped in 1967, when the airline became Qantas Airways Ltd – and it’s still the official full name, although hardly anyone uses it. See qantas.com.au
Blue Virgin
A Boeing 737-76N Virgin Blue at RAAF Base in Williamtown, NSW in 2010. Photo: Rebecca Citroni / Alamy Stock Photo
In retrospect, naming an airline a joke might not be a brilliant idea. When Virgin Blue was launched in 2000, the name was an ironic reference to the plane’s red color. More of the company’s rebranding as Virgin Australia came in 2011, after the frankly confusing launch of sister airlines Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue and V Australia created a marketing mess. See virginaustralia.com
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