Brave new vision for new Britain from BA

I must confess that I did not think that British Airways needed a new corporate identity; its old graphics vaguely redolent of a cigarette packet with that ersatz crest seemed about right, slightly dull and a bit pompous.

However, when I saw the new pan-cultural graphics from Newell and Sorrell not only did I like them, but my perception of British Airways and its quality of service was greatly enhanced. It is a positive statement about the future of Britain and its place in the global community. I would put it as the best major corporate identity seen for at least a decade.

The Union Flag is a very distinctive and globally recognisable symbol. As for Virgin Airways pasting it on its fuselages, well, it seems to be in keeping with its own corporate opportunism. It has after all been creatively used by many others, from the National Front to the Spice Girls (another sort of front and an unlikely virgin). I was not aware that our flag was, in fact, a part of the outgoing British Airways livery.

Sebastian Conran

London W1