Livery of the Week: Delta’s First A350 Special Livery

The paint scheme recognizes the carrier's long-standing Olympics partnership.

A special livery on Delta’s newest Airbus A350 (Photo: Delta)

[ Livery of the Week ]May 3, 2024 10:35 am ET

By Ryan Ewing

Editor’s Note: AirlineGeeks is proud to present our ‘Livery of the Week’ series. Every Friday, a team member will share an airline livery, which can be from the past, present, or even a special scheme. Some airline liveries are works of art. The complexity associated with painting around critical flight components and the added weight requires outside-the-box thinking from designers. The average airliner can cost upwards of $200,000 to repaint, creating a separate aircraft repainting industry as a result.

Have an idea for a livery that we should highlight? Drop us a line.

Delta officially revealed its newest Airbus A350 aircraft featuring a custom Team USA livery design on Thursday. The unveiling ceremony, which was held at Airbus’ facility in Toulouse, France, marks another milestone in Delta’s eight-year partnership with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), extending through the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The aircraft is registered as N522DZ.

The aircraft design, created by Delta’s internal design team, celebrates the carrier’s commitment to Team USA athletes. It features a prominent “Team USA” inscription alongside a red, white, and blue color scheme.

The livery incorporates elements from the Beijing 2022 Winter Games design while hinting at features to come for Paris 2024 and beyond. Notably, the jet stream design from the Beijing livery has been transformed into the shape of the Eiffel Tower, symbolizing the upcoming Paris Games.

Delta unveils a new special livery on an Airbus A350 (Photo: Delta)

Employees Present at Delivery Event

For the first time, Delta’s Chairman’s Club honorees, a group of the airline’s top 100 employees, were invited to witness the reveal. These employees, nominated by their peers and senior leaders, represent excellence across the airline. The 2023 honorees will be on the aircraft’s ferry flight to Atlanta.

“Unveiling the Team USA aircraft for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 marks a major milestone for Delta’s support of Team USA as we look toward the start of competition in just a few months,” said Delta’s Chief Marketing Officer Alicia Tillman in a press release. “This plane, designed by our in-house creative team, represents Delta’s commitment to Team USA and our partnership to elevate these athletes to reach their highest potential. As this plane flies around the world in the coming months and years, we hope it is seen as a symbol of hard work, dedication and the upward momentum to being the best that Team USA and Delta innately share.”

This paint scheme is the first special livery on one of Delta’s A350 aircraft. In 2021, the airline unveiled a special Olympics-themed livery in sponsorship of Team USA on an Airbus A330-900neo.

Looking for a new airplane model? Head over to our friends at the Midwest Model Store for a wide selection of airlines and liveries.

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Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com back in February 2013 and has amassed considerable experience in the aviation sector. His work has been featured in several publications and news outlets, including CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. During his time in the industry, he's worked in roles pertaining to airport/airline operations while holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Management from Arizona State University along with an MBA. Ryan has experience in several facets of the industry from behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 to interviewing airline industry executives. Ryan works for AirlineGeeks' owner FLYING Media, spearheading coverage in the commercial aviation space.

Follow Ryan

Author

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com back in February 2013 and has amassed considerable experience in the aviation sector. His work has been featured in several publications and news outlets, including CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. During his time in the industry, he's worked in roles pertaining to airport/airline operations while holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Management from Arizona State University along with an MBA. Ryan has experience in several facets of the industry from behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 to interviewing airline industry executives. Ryan works for AirlineGeeks' owner FLYING Media, spearheading coverage in the commercial aviation space.
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