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Airline Mismanagement

Some companies consider slogans very valuable, others don't seem to care about them at all.

For sure, it is obvious that very little thought has gone into the creation of some of these airline slogans.

 
 
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Still More Airline Slogans

Slogans for airlines named O through R
 

One of the best known icons of 'The Golden Age' of air travel (whatever that may have been!) would definitely be Pan Am.

This image shows a Lockheed (Super?) Constellation and so is probably from the late 1940s or early 1950s.

Part of a series on Airline Slogans - please also visit the other pages linked on the right.

 

 

Branding is big business, and huge sums of money are spent on 'image advertising' and 'awareness' campaigns.

Although some companies have very slow changing brands and slogans, others view them as more tactical tools, changing their slogan or tag line all the time.

Some companies have very official standards requiring an exact formal placement of their slogan or tag line in all advertising in the same way (even to such details as font size and type and color), whereas others are much more casual.

Airline slogans have been adopted by most (but not all!) airlines, and with varying degrees of rigidity, as you can see in this and the other pages of this article series.

Airlines with Names beginning O through R

Here are such slogans and related phrases as we've been able to find for airlines starting with the letters O through R inclusive.  Click through the other parts of this series of other airlines - we have airlines featured from all letters of the alphabet.

Within each airline section we list slogans in alphabetical order.

Can You Help Us?

Sure, this is already probably the largest collection of airline slogans, anywhere.  But it barely touches the surface of all the slogans that have ever been released, for all airlines that have ever flown (or even not flown!).

Furthermore, the information we do have is usually incomplete and may sometimes be inaccurate.

If you can help us more accurately identify the slogans we have, or if you have new slogans to add to the collection, please let us know.  It is helpful if you tell us the slogan itself, the airline it related to, and also as much else such as when the slogan was in use, and how it was used, and any background to why the slogan was chosen, or why it was superseded, and anything else to add to the context of each slogan.

 

Olympic Airways

 
 

Formed in 1957.  Renamed to Olympic Airlines in 2003.

 

Please - no dancing in the aisles

ca 60s

Oneworld Alliance

 
 

Airline alliance formed in 1999.

 

Oneworld revolves around you

 

Ozark

 
 

Founded in 1950, sold to TWA and lost its identity in 1986.

 

Get yourself up, go Ozark

 
 

Go-getters go Ozark

1960s

 

Go Ozark... we make it easy for you

 
 

Ozark Airlines, we're big on that

 
 

Ozark flies your way
(sighted on 1986 route map)

1980s

 

Up there with the biggest

 
 

We make it easy for you

1970s

Ozjet

 
 

A shortlived Australian airline, 2005 - 2006, minor remaining operations until 2008)

 

(Now) You're in business

2005

Pacific Northern Airlines

 
 

1947 - 1967.  Formed from Woodley Airlines.  Merged into Western Airlines.

 

The Alaska Flag Line
(sighted on flight bag, undated)
(sighted on timetable, 1959)

1959

Pakistan International Air

 
 

Great people to fly with

 

Pacific Sun (Fiji)

 
 

Formed when Air Pacific purchased Sun Air in 2006, started flying in 2007.

 

Best value under the Sun

 

 

Fiji's Regional Airline
(sighted on logo)
(main purpose seems to be to distinguish itself from Air Pacific, which has slogan "Fiji's International Airline")

2009

Pan American World Airways (Pan Am)

 

 

Pan Am was the 'flagship' international airline of the United States for most of the period from its launch in 1927 through until its demise on December 4, 1991, although part of the reason for its demise was increased competition from formerly domestic only US carriers on its international routes in the years since deregulation in 1978.  Its primacy waned in the 1980s, accelerated by its selling off 25% of its international routes (the Pacific routes) to United in approx 1982.

There have been four subsequent airlines using the same name after the original Pan Am's demise, none of which have slogans mentioned here.

 

America's airline to the world

late 70s

 

America's Merchant Marine of the Air!
(sighted, 1940 magazine advertisement)

1940

 

Come fly in a million dollar baby (sung tag at the end of radio ads touting $1 million of cabin upgrades per 747 in their fleet)

1981

 

Experience makes the difference

early 70s

 

First on the Atlantic/Pacific, First in Latin America, First round the world

 
 

I'm going to Europe this summer on Pan Am.

 
 

It's a Smaller world than ever now!
(sighted on reverse of ticket)

1939

 

Live today. Tomorrow will cost more Pan Am

 
 

Pan Am makes the going great

early 70s

 

Pan Am shuttle.... the corporate jet

 
 

Pan Am. We're flying better than ever.

1991 just before bankruptcy

 

(Just) Say Hello to Pan Am

1980 -81

 

Speed - Comfort - Dependability
(sighted on passenger ticket)

1939

 

The sky is no longer the limit (Fictitious slogan shown on Pan Am shuttle in 2001 - A Space Odyssey)

 
 

The System of the Flying Clippers

1946 - 53

 

(The) World's Most Experienced Airline
(sighted on posters claimed to be ca 1940s - early 50s and again perhaps in 1960s, then maybe late 60s/early 70s without the word 'The')

1953 - early 70s

 

We fly the world the way the world want us to fly

 
 

Wings over the World
(sighted, magazine ads)

1942 - 3

 

You call it the world, we call it home

 
 

You can't beat the experience(, Pan Am) (sometimes sung)

1980s

Panagra

 
 

World's friendliest airline

 

People Express

 
 

Formed in 1981, sold to and integrated into Continental Airlines in 1987.  Was an original 'low fare/no frills' airline, charging for drinks and snacks.

 

Flying that costs less than driving.
(sighted on timetable, 1981)

1980s

 

People Express. Fly smart.
(sighted on timetable, 1981)

1980s

Philippine Airlines

 
 

Asia's first airline

 
 

It's all about experience
(in radio advertisements and on posters)

2009

 

Shining Through

 
 

The 6000 mph airline

 
 

With Us, You're Always No.1
(sighted on their website)

2009

Piedmont

 
 

Founded in 1948.  Bought by US Air in 1989.

 

The up and coming airline

 

Porter Airlines

 
 

Based in Toronto, started service in 2006

 

flying refined
(sighted on their website)

2009

ProAir

 
 

Pro's fly it, because it's run by Pro's.

 

PSA Pacific Southwest Airlines

 
 

California is all smiles (lots of smile related slogans here - their planes had smiles painted under the cockpits)

 
 

(PSA) Catch our smile
(sighted, timetable, 1987)

1987

 

Now our smile is even wider
(sighted on first joint PSA/USAir timetable in 1987)

1987

 

One of the world's great airlines is in the west

 
 

One of the world's great airlines is in the west

 
 

Our smiles aren't just painted on

 
 

PSA gives you a lift

 
 

The airline that won the West... with a smile.
(sighted, timetable, 1983)

1983

 

The Smile you can count on.
(sighted, timetable, 1983)

1983

 

The world's friendliest airline

 
 

We got to be tough, to make you smile (Not popular with employees who didn't like the thought of being tough)

 

Qantas Airways

 
 

41 Years of Dependable Service
(sighted, logo strap line, 1962 timetable insert)
(this slogan and the advertisement that accompanied it was about as close to boasting of Qantas' 'no fatal accident' record as I've seen)

1962

 

Australia's Airline
(sighted on timetable, 1974)

1974

 

Australia's overseas airline
(sighted on timetable, 1954, 55, 57)

1954 - late 50s

 

Australia's round-the-world (or round the world) airline
(sighted both versions on 1958, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 timetables)

1958 - 71

 

Australia's international airline
(sighted on 1953, 54 timetables)

1953 - 4

 

Australia's traditional airline
(sighted on 1949 timetable as QEA)

1949

 

I hate Qantas
(sighted on many pieces)
(a talking koala gripes about the better service given to humans than to himself)

1990s

 

Spirit of Australia
(sighted on their website)
(a reworked version of the earlier "The Spirit of Australia" slogan)

2009

 

The Australian Airline
(sighted on 1973, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 timetable and 1990s materials)(A play on the name of an airline it merged into itself, Trans Australia Airlines - same initial letters)

1973 - 89; again in
1990s

 

The Spirit of Australia
(sighted on 1989, 90 timetables)

1989 - 90s

 

The Spirit of Australia, the flying kangaroo (an earlier version, sung, prior to the logo redesign when the kangaroo lost its wings)

 
 

We took the time and got a better plane
(sighted, ad, 1971)
(Qantas was uncharacteristically slow to adopt the 747, taking delivery of the 747B instead of the original 747, and used this tag line to boast/justify its actions.)

1971

Qatar Airways

 
 

Taking you more personally

 
 

World's 5-star airline (sighted)

 

Republic

 
 

Joining more of American than any other airline

 
 

Nobody serves our republic like Republic

 
 

We make you feel like flying
(sighted, timetable, 1985)

1985

Royal Brunei Airlines

 
 

Giving the world Asia's best.

 

Ryanair

 
 

Ryanair. Fly cheaper.

 
 

The Low Fares Airline.
(sighted on advertisements)

 

 

Important Note :  The Accuracy of the Slogans Listed

We've compiled this list of slogans as a result of searching through the internet and exercising as much quality control as we can, but identifying definitive slogans is very much a series of shades of grey rather than black and white - indeed, we've seen airlines themselves with multiple similar versions of the same slogan - are these a planned formal evolution of the 'official' slogan, or a series of mistaken variations on the official theme?

When does a slogan start or finish?

How much of a sentence, clause, or phrase is the key part of the slogan, and how much is not so relevant?  For example, the slogan often remembered as 'Something Special in the Air' comes from a more complete sentence 'Silver bird, take me where there's something special in the air', and we've seen the slogan cited in full, or as the intermediate form 'take me where there's something special in the air' as well as in its five word essential form.

Wherever possible, we've tried to show as much of the complete context of the slogan as we can, and indicate by brackets which is the key part.

Capitals/lower case/periods

Very rarely we've actually sighted a slogan ourselves, and then can accurately copy it in terms of its capitalization and punctuation.  But even in such cases as that, ambiguities arise - if a slogan is shown in all upper case, should we now show it as all upper case or should we use a mix of upper and lower case, and, if the latter (our preference) was it the original intent to capitalize every word or just the starts of sentences and proper nouns?

Additionally, if a slogan is broken into two lines when printed, was it the intent of the slogan writer to have it in two lines, or is this merely a layout/typographical coincidence?  Should we show it as two lines, or as two sentences, or as one sentence with a comma?

Should there be a period at the end of the slogan?

So, even if we have sighted the slogan ourselves, it is difficult to accurately render it on this listing.

Relying on imperfect sources

And, of course, if we're accepting someone else's recollection or written memory, there is plenty of opportunity for error.

Two people might offer two versions of a slogan - is this a case of one person being mistaken (and which person?), or is it a case of a slogan which appeared in two forms?

Sometimes it is interesting to see how slogans get confused and altered, but in the interests of accuracy, we're trying to restrict ourselves to the correct versions only!

The bottom line - what can you rely upon

The bottom line is that few of these slogans can be considered as definitive.  If you're looking for a resource to settle a large bet with a friend, the only slogans you can be certain of here are the ones that have a formal attribution to them (eg a 'sighted' or similar comment).

Part of a series on Airline Slogans - please also visit the other pages linked at the top right of this article.

Related Articles, etc

If so, please donate to keep the website free and fund the addition of more articles like this. Any help is most appreciated - simply click below to securely send a contribution through a credit card and Paypal.

 

Originally published 21 Aug 2009, last update 30 May 2021

You may freely reproduce or distribute this article for noncommercial purposes as long as you give credit to me as original writer.

 
 
Related Articles
An introduction to airline slogans
More about airline slogans
Airline slogans : A
Airline slogans : B
Airline slogans : C - F
Airline slogans : G - N
Airline slogans : O - R
Airline slogans : S - Z
 

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