Korean brings new colour scheme to Brisbane

Following the completion of its planned merger with fellow South Korean carrier Asiana, Korean Air has relaunched its branding and introduced a new aircraft livery to mark the rebirth of the newly expanded carrier. The new livery replaces the current scheme, which was first introduced almost 41 years ago on the 1st of March 1984, on one of the company’s Boeing 747-300 and a single McDonnell Douglas MD80, both types of which have been long-since retired from the carrier’s fleet. 41 years is a long time for an airline to refresh its branding, so the Asiana merger has given Korean Air the impetus to revisit its corporate image.

KOREAN AIR BOEING 787-9 HL-8393 (MSN 35168)

The current scheme being replaced was in itself a deviation from the traditional colors of the national flag, with a baby blue upper fuselage color separated from the white lower fuselage by a silver stripe. The airline’s ‘Taegeuk’ (yin yang) logo appeared on the tail in the traditional colors of red, white, and navy blue, while also appearing as the ‘O’ in the airline titles on the forward fuselage in what is now an old-fashioned font style.

While Korean Air has retained the sky-blue main fuselage colour, the paint now has a deep metallic effect. The fuselage bears the word Korean, rather than Korean Air; the lettering has been changed, and is much larger. The familiar red-and-blue Taegeuk tail symbol has been simplified and stylised in dark blue.

The airline has started repainting its fleet, aiming for at least 30 aircraft this year. All new deliveries will arrive with the new livery, and aircraft involved in retrofit programs will also be repainted. The merger with Asiana Airlines will see the latter's fleet also be repainted in the new livery in 2027.

The new colour scheme came into Brisbane for the first time a few days ago, but unfortunately, I wasn't aware of its arrival until it was too late. Today it called into Brisbane for a second time, so I wasn't going to let this chance go by. 

I really like the dark blue but I'm not a fan of the font.

KOREAN AIRBUS A330-323 HL-8025 (MSN 1611)