Canadian Airlines was the second-largest airline in Canada. It was founded in 1987 and merged with Air Canada in 2001, forming the biggest Canadian player in the segment.
The second largest air carrier of Canada was acquired by its main competitor, Air Canada in 2000, ceasing all operations in 2001. Canadian Airlines was established in the end of the 1980s, and had the largest coverage of destinations in its country, operating flights to more than 100 cities in Canada. As for the international locations, Canadian Airlines had its flights to more than 17 countries worldwide.
Even though the company only existed for a bit longer than a decade, up to date there was no other air carrier in its country, except for Air Canada, managed to gain such a strong reputation and to grow such a large fleet.
What is Canadian Airlines?
Canadian Airlines is the name of a former air carrier from Canada, which was established in 1987, and merged into Air Canada in 2001. The company used to be the second largest airline in its country, with a fleet of 163 aircraft, flying to 160 destinations across the globe.
The Canadian Airlines logo, used by the air carrier in the 1990s, looked modern and cool for its times. It was composed of a pretty simple yet sophisticated title-case logotype in a fancy serif typeface, with the last letter “A” replaced by a graphical element. The element featured a red horizontally placed chevron, pointing to the right, set on a striped blue and white square. The red arrow became a great representation of speed, freedom, and flight, and stayed with the company for many years, being kept in the following versions.
Canadian Airlines’ visual identity is based on a wordmark and an emblem on its top.
The wordmark is executed in a traditional serif typeface with one interesting detail — an arrow sign replacing the third “A” of the “Canadian”. It is a symbol of progress and movement, as well as passion and speed.
The red color of the lettering represents the powerful and dynamic company, one of the country’s leaders.
The Canadian Airlines emblem is an image of a flying goose, who is drawn like the airplane. It is a tribute to Canada and its mascot bird, which looks strong and elegant on the logo.
The red and white color palette of the wordmark, celebrating the colors of the national flag of Canada, are complemented by the sky-blue of the goose, which symbolizes flight, freedom, and freshness.
The Canadian Airlines logo is a classic elegance, which is timeless. With the arrow detail of the nameplate, it looks sharp and confident, showing the creative and progressive character of the company.
The elegant title case lettering from the primary badge of Canadian Airlines was set in a classy and bold serif font with elongated serifs on the ends of the bars. The closest fonts to the one, used in this insignia, are, probably, Jante Antiqua Semi Bold, or Mondo News Bold.
As for the color palette of the Canadian Airlines visual identity, it was based on a combination of blue and red, with a plain white background. One of the most powerful yet sophisticated combination of shades represented the company at its best, symbolizing quality, stability and determination.