Criticism
The adoption of this aircraft livery was seen as a move away from the traditional British image of the carrier. BA suggested that the previous "Landor Associates" scheme carried an air of arrogance and detachment, and insisted that the new tailfins were popular with international travellers. However, they were unpopular with many people in the UK, despite nine of the designs being inspired by either England, Scotland or Wales. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher showed her displeasure at the designs by covering one of the new tailfins on a model 747 with a handkerchief. She declared, "We fly the British flag, not these awful things."
Virgin Atlantic took advantage of the controversy by applying a Union flag scheme to the front end of its aircraft. In their own 1999 relaunch, the flag was also applied to the vertical winglets of Virgin Atlantic's aircraft.
Safety concerns were also raised that the lack of a consistent tail design could lead to BA aircraft being misidentified by controllers and other aircrew.
Read more about this topic: British Airways Ethnic Liveries
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