The airspace of Canada from which aircraft fly in different directions is encoded in the characters of the Air Canada logo. The emblem demonstrates the love for one’s country and the desire to expand the borders for its citizens.
Air Canada: Brand overview
Founded: | 10 April 1937 |
Headquarters: |
Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada |
Website: | aircanada.com |
Meaning and History
Air Canada has undergone several transformations before becoming a globally recognized transport organization. It was created by the Canadian federal government in 1937 and was called Trans-Canada Air Lines until 1965. TCA began making its first intercontinental flights in 1938, and until that time, it was known only domestically. She carried mail on the Vancouver-Seattle route and only took two passengers with her back and forth.
But after the expansion of the transport fleet, the situation changed dramatically: the company received the first long-distance flights and permission for large-scale air transportation. In addition, TCA became the first airline in the world to test a computer-based reservation network at remote terminals. It switched to the large-scale ReserVec system in 1953.
In 1965, TCA received a new name – Air Canada, approved at the government level. In 1988, the air carrier was privatized and passed into private hands. The most significant step in his work is the acquisition of a direct competitor – Canadian Airlines. Since then, it has become a monopoly in Canadian airspace. In 2004, the company received a holding status and was transformed into ACE Aviation Holdings Inc.
Every important step in the activities of an air transport organization was reflected in its symbols. Therefore, the identity changed simultaneously with key events – from renaming to merging into a holding. At the same time, the management always adhered to the originally chosen design and accepted only corrected versions without fundamental changes. In total, there are seven emblems in the history of the airline.
What is Air Canada?
This is a Canadian airline that was called Trans-Canada Airlines until 1964. She is one of the five founders of the Star Alliance partnership.
1937 – 1945
The first logo was a circle with white and gray edging around the edge and a red maple leaf inside. The symbol of Canada could not fail to be present on the badge of the air carrier because he sought to gain the high status of a key figure in the Canadian air force. In the center of the sheet were three letters – “TCA.” It is an abbreviation for the full name of Trans-Canada Air Lines. Above them was a white paper plane representing the field of activity.
1945 – 1965
The designers removed the edging lines and painted the right edge of the maple leaf black and the left edge white. They also removed the ribbed pattern and shadows from the letters.
1965 – 1987
After the renaming, a redesign took place; as a result, a new name was included in the logo. It was arranged in two lines: at the top was the word “Air,” at the bottom was “Canada,” and even below was a miniature icon in the form of a maple leaf outlined in a circle. All elements were red.
1987 – 1994
During this period, the logo was dominated by a combination of red and black. A circle with a leaf in the center was painted in red (more precisely, light burgundy), and the name of the air carrier was painted in black. Moreover, the designers rearranged the inscription and placed it in one row under the icon. Instead of capital letters, they used lowercase letters.
1994 – 2005
The leaf in this version was redrawn to resemble real maple leaves as much as possible – wide, with curly cutouts. The developers again chose capital letters for the Air Canada company name but added miniature extensions at the ends, reminiscent of serifs. In addition, they have widely spaced characters in both words.
2005 – 2017
In this version of the logo, the authors have corrected the font. To do this, they made the letters narrow and smooth by removing the serifs. The designers also added color, opting for a bright scarlet, attracting as much attention as possible.
2017 – today
The modern emblem is not as saturated in colors as before: light burgundy replaced the scarlet in the color of the leaf, and the dusty black replaced the bright red letters. Otherwise, everything is the same as the previous version.
Font and Colors
Since the airline belongs to Canada, the management chose the maple leaf for the identity – the key symbol of this country. As the redesign progressed, only its outline changed, but it never disappeared from the logo. Also, the circle always remained in place, in the center of which the leaf is located. By the way, this image also contains the action of flight because the leaves fly, are picked up by the wind, and smoothly fall on the ground.
Air Canada has been written in different fonts at different times. If initially, these were wide white letters, then at the end, they became narrow black. The fonts used are reminiscent of Sweet Gothic Medium, Indecisive Expanded Medium, and Lucida Sans Bold. The latest version was developed by designers Kris Holmes and Charles Bigelow. Its closest free counterpart is DoppioOne Font.
Air Canada color codes
Maximum Red | Hex color: | #d82f2e |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 216 47 46 | |
CMYK: | 0 78 79 15 | |
Pantone: | PMS Warm Red C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 0 0 | |
CMYK: | 0 0 0 100 | |
Pantone: | PMS Process Black C |
What is the logo of Air Canada?
The brand logo shows a red maple leaf, the national symbol of Canada. It reflects the airline’s historical heritage and shows its leadership position in the country.
How many planes does Air Canada have?
As of July 2021, the Canadian airline’s fleet consisted of 159 aircraft.
Who is the owner of Air Canada?
Air Canada is a public company, so it does not have a single owner. Its shares are freely traded on the market, but there is a restriction: non-residents of Canada can get no more than 25%.
Where is Air Canada’s head office?
It is headquartered in Montreal, Canada’s second-largest city.