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.
While traditional marketing theories advise airlines to avoid sponsoring events such as motor racing because of perceived associations with “danger” and “uncertainty” — concepts that could reflect negatively on air transport operators — the past couple of decades have seen several airlines establish partnerships with Formula One teams and events.
Today, some carriers are title sponsors of their home Grands Prix. Gulf Air, for example, has been the title sponsor of the Bahrain Grand Prix since its inception in 2004. Singapore Airlines, which has held the same role at the Singapore Grand Prix since 2014, has extended its commitment through 2028.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has been the title sponsor of the UAE Grand Prix since the race’s debut in 2009. This year, it also entered into a partnership with McLaren Racing, bringing together “two organizations with a shared commitment to innovation, ambition, and delivering exceptional experiences for fans and customers around the world”.
To mark the partnership, Etihad has painted one of its Boeing 787-10 aircraft in a special livery, taking McLaren Racing’s distinctive color to the skies.
Papaya-Colored Aircraft
The livery features McLaren’s signature papaya orange across most of the fuselage — the same color used on its racing cars and team uniforms. The “Etihad” and “McLaren” names appear side by side above the cabin windows, while the McLaren logo is displayed toward the rear of the aircraft against a black background. The tail fin retains Etihad’s signature mosaic pattern, with its colors adjusted to complement the fuselage’s black-and-orange scheme.
The aircraft chosen to showcase the special livery is a Boeing 787-10, registered A6-BMI. It was delivered to Etihad directly from the manufacturer on Oct. 14, 2020.
The aircraft features one of Etihad’s older cabin designs, introduced in 2018. It has 327 seats in a two-class configuration: 32 business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout and 295 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout. The first 10 rows of the economy cabin are designated “Economy Space,” offering a seat pitch of 35 inches rather than the standard 31 inches.
Looking for a new airplane model? Head over to our friends at the Midwest Model Store for a wide selection of airlines and liveries.
