Remaking Continental Airlines

What started as an airmail and passenger service in 1934, Continental Airlines celebrated its 75th anniversary in July 2009. To mark the day, they rolled out a 737 painted as a circa 1958 livery, but didn't seize the moment to review the brand on the table. Their meridian-demarcated globe has graced the tails of their planes for nearly 20 years now. As globes and all things global go, it is a strong runner, but Continental's 1968 jet-stream predecessor, five simple white curves cut into an oval, was a more forceful, and far less generic, stamp and statement.

A global leader in the airline industry requires such a statement. In this case, referring back to Continental's own strong identity and allowing it to evolve could also speak to a confidence in their products and services. Besides that, a globe, while it may weakly allude to connectedness, does not on its own invoke the core of what Continental does. That is why it must always paired with their name, so that the point is forced.

Yes, thanks to more affordable airfares, the world is getting smaller. But show us that strong leader that flies planes and has been doing it, and doing it well, since our grandfathers cut their first teeth.

Why reinvent the wheel when, in this case, the wheels were already on the tarmac?