Air India’s Various Special Liveries Over The Years: A Brief Guide

Air India
is India’s flag carrier and has been operating since 1946 (the year before India became independent). Today, Air India operates a large fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft flying to around a hundred destinations domestically and internationally. As with many airlines,

Air India’s liveries have evolved over the years
, and it has introduced a number of special special liveries
. Here are a few of the notable special liveries seen on Air India aircraft in recent years.

Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary

Air India has introduced many special liveries over the years to mark various special occasions. As Air India is the flag carrier, these are often used to mark dates of national importance. Air India produced a number of special liveries to mark the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869, and the 150th-anniversary celebration took place in 2019. Today, Gandhi’s birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in India.

Photo: Jarek Kilian l Shutterstock

These special liveries depicted the stretched outline of Gandhi walking with his simple ropes and walking stick on the tail of the aircraft. The rest of the aircraft—including the fuselage—remained largely unchanged.

The name “Mahatma Gandhi” is an honorific title, with Mahatma meaning ‘great-souled, venerable’ in Sanskrit. He was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and studied law in London. He worked for 21 years in British South Africa (as a lawyer) and also volunteered as a stretcher-bearer during the Boer Wars. He returned to India as an anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist and is famous for advocating nonviolent resistance to achieve India’s independence.

Other special Air India liveries

Air India has introduced several other special liveries in recent years – mostly for events of national significance. The Boeing 777, with the special ‘Celebrating India,’ sported numerous pictures of notable Indian landmarks across its fuselage. The forward text “Air India” was also printed in Hindi in the Devanagari script – “एअर इंडिया.”

To mark the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence, the forward “Air India” text was also replaced with its Hindi counterpart, “एअर इंडिया,” styled in Devanagari. However, with both Celebrating India and the 75th anniversary, the livery retained “Air India” on the tail.

The subcontinent of India is home to the genesis of several of the world’s major religions (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism). While less than 2% of India follows Sikhism, it is one of the most prominent and recognizable religions in the country (it is also one of the world’s youngest major religions).

To celebrate Sikhism, Air India introduced a special livery to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak (the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus). The tail was painted with the fundamental teaching of Sikhism, “ੴ “—transliterated “Ek Onkar” (in English, “there is one God”). The aircraft was introduced with the livery in 2019 and flown from Amritsar in the Indian state of Punjab (the homeland of the Sikhs) to London Stanstead (there is a large Sikh population in England).

Three aircraft that received Star Alliance liveries are the exception to the rule (of liveries for national significance). These aircraft received a Star Alliance logo tail and the word “Star Alliance” written prominently across the fuselage, mostly displacing the normal “Air India” text. Air India has sported many more special liveries over the years (including a COVID-19 vaccination milestone).

Air India’s new livery

While Air India periodically produces special liveries to make special events and dates, Air India’s standard livery is also evolving. Air India unveiled a new livery in 2023 to provide a modernized look for the airline.

The revised livery features a new billboard-style “Air India” word mark on the forward fuselage in new custom Air India Sans font. The order of red and orange coloring is replaced with deeper red, aubergine, and gold accents on the tail. On the belly of the aircraft is a large “Air India” title.

Photo: Air India

In July 2024,

Air India took delivery of the first aircraft (an Airbus A320neo registered VR-RTN)
painted with its new livery. The livery change took place in the context of TATA’s acquisition of the airline (Air India is a fully-owned subsidiary of TATA).