Mexicana de Aviación, Mexico’s first commercial airline, has used a series of eagle-based emblems throughout its history. The most enduring of these, the geometric eagle perched atop a pyramidal “M,” was introduced in the late 1960s and has been revived for the airline’s return to operations.
Design and History
From 1940 until 1968, Mexicana de Aviación used an emblem featuring a golden eagle perched on a circle containing the silhouette of Mexico and the word “Mexicana.”[1]
In 1966, the company began a program to renew its image and identity, commissioning the Chicago-based agency Design Consultants, led by Frederic A. Roberton.[2] After studying Mexican architecture for several years, the result was a golden eagle resting on an “M” shaped like a pyramid.[2] The emblem was rendered in blue with the eagle facing left.[1] The identity program also selected magenta, known as “rosa mexicano,” as the corporate color for aircraft, uniforms, ticket facilities and terminals.[3]
This logo remained in use for 22 years, from 1968 until 1990, when it underwent a light redesign.[1] The word “Mexicana” changed from lowercase to uppercase, the eagle was mirrored to face right, and the design adopted a light blue color.[1]
In 2008, Mexicana commissioned a new identity from Mexican designer Gabriel Martinez Meave.[4] The redesign used upper and lowercase letters for the name “Mexicana” to express the warmth and flexibility of a service-oriented company, while the eagle icon was retained as a symbol of the brand’s essence.[5] This design lasted only two years, as the airline declared bankruptcy in 2010.[1]
When Mexicana de Aviación returned to operations in December 2023 under the administration of Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the airline chose to revive the logo used from 1968 to 1990 rather than create a new identity.[1][6] The aircraft feature the green, white and red colors of the Mexican flag alongside the Mexicana commercial brand logo.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The eagle is a national symbol of Mexico, tied to the founding of Tenochtitlan and the prophecy of Huitzilopochtli, who ordered his people to found a city where an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent.[1] This may explain why the eagle in the airline’s first redesign faced left, though the design office’s records do not confirm this reasoning.[1]
The pyramidal “M” beneath the eagle evokes Mexico’s pre-Hispanic past, giving the letter the appearance of a pyramid.[8]
Typography and Design
The 1968 redesign introduced a sans-serif wordmark with straight cuts and slanted letterforms, a departure from earlier branding.[9] The 2008 identity by Gabriel Martinez Meave used free-form upper and lowercase letters intended to convey warmth and flexibility.[5]
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