The Virgin Blue group is set to unveil a new livery, which is expected to unify the group's four carriers under one brand.
The carrier has appointed Dutch designer Hans Hulsbosch as its creative director to create the new livery and corporate identity, says Virgin Blue.
It did not give a time frame or cost for the project.
CEO John Borghetti says Hulsbosch will create "an identity that can stretch across both the leisure and corporate sector". The carrier wants to increase its corporate market share to achieve higher yields as it further moves away from its low-cost origin.
Although there was no mention of Hulsbosch creating a unified livery, Borghetti says he wants to bring Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue, and V Australia under one brand. Former CEO Brett Godfrey had previously expressed the same sentiment.
"Even Brett [Godfrey] before me made comment along the lines that it would be a good thing if one day we operated under one brand. And certainly my view is just that," Borghetti said at the carrier's annual results briefing in Sydney last month.
In appointing Hulsbosch, Borghetti has again called on connections made during his time as Qantas Airways' executive general manager. Hulsbosch joined Qantas' then-design house Lunn Design in the 1980s and more recently re-designed the Qantas kangaroo so it would fit on the carrier's Airbus 380.
Since Borghetti's appointment the Australian travelling public has voiced concerns that Virgin Blue will shed its flair as it moves upmarket.
Hulsbosch downplays those concerns, saying: "Our brief is to take the brand to a new level of modern sophistication, keeping with the brand's contemporary young spirit. It will be unmistakably Virgin with a fresh and innovative feel that also knows how to have a little bit of fun."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
