Aeroflot loyal to hammer and sickle

Aeroflot loyal to hammer and sickle

Aeroflot: Trying to undo decades of bad press about its services

Russian national carrier Aeroflot is to stick with its distinctive hammer and sickle logo from the Communist era - despite earlier plans to scrap it as part of efforts to transform the company's image.

Under the restructuring, new Boeings and Airbuses are to replace ageing Soviet-designed craft in the airline's 110-plus fleet.

Its current livery of red, blue and white is being ditched for blue, orange and silver, with a stylish Russian flag draped across the tail.

And inside the cabin, decor and crew uniforms are being redesigned, and improvements made to service and food.

However the company is reluctant to retire the 70-year old hammer and sickle symbol.

"This is an old Russian brand, which everyone associates with Aeroflot. This logo is so harmonious that is has proved difficult to replace," Aeroflot's deputy director general, Lev Koshlyakov, told the French news agency AFP.

Negative perceptions

The airline, founded in 1923, said in December it would drop the hammer and sickle on the advice of its image consultant, Identica.

Aeroflot, which flies to more than 100 destinations, is trying to change decades of negative perceptions of poor safety and service to compete more effectively in the international marketplace.

Market research abroad had indicated support for the logo change, with customers apparently finding that the Soviet-era symbol had bad associations.

But in case the airline's management has a change of heart, the old logo is being replaced with a removable sticker on all the planes.