COLOGNE — If you think Lufthansa looks a little different these days, that’s because it does. The airline has dropped its traditional yellow tones as part of its new, modernized brand image, which launched at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs on Feb. 7.

In front of over 3,000 guests, Lufthansa officially presented a Boeing 747-8 and an Airbus A321 with the new livery. The response to the updated look was overwhelmingly positive, although some people still missed its trademark yellows. No worries, however – according to the airline, the colour will still be found in the future, on every boarding pass and at every Lufthansa airport counter, among other things.

“Lufthansa has changed and is more modern and successful than ever. From now on, this will also be visible to the public through a new design”, says Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “The crane has always been with us and clearly stands for the promising performance from Lufthansa. To this day, it still stands as a symbol of highest quality, excellent service, flying expertise, reliability, innovative spirit; and it stands for trust.”

The crane, designed exCtly 100 years ago by graphic artist Otto Firie, remains the airline’s iconic symbol. In the future, it will be slimmer and fit for the digital world, with a thinner ring that will make the crane look more elegant. The familiar blue-yellow colour combination of Lufthansa will also be retained, although slightly updated. The blue specifically developed for Lufthansa is somewhat darker, more elegant, and represents reliability, clarity and value.

In the cabin, guests will encounter the modernized design within the crew’s uniform in the form of new – and often yellow – accessories. On-board articles such as tableware, amenity kits, blankets or pillowcases will carry the new design in future. Around 160 million items will be exchanged over the next two years.

The Lufthansa Group’s brand image has also been modernized. The new logo no longer bears the crane and is written completely in capital letters. This will take into account the great variety of brands in the Group, offering optical neutrality for all companies.

The launch of the new Lufthansa brand marks the start of the new #SayYesToTheWorld brand campaign. After recognizing the need to modernize its aircraft appearance, the Group is investing two billion euros a year in new, fuel-efficient aircraft. As such, Lufthansa was awarded the Platinum Award by IATA for its new digital services, and was the only and first airline in Europe to be awarded the 5th star by Skytrax.