Airline Livery - Billboards in the Sky

Tourism is one of the booming sectors of any country. But how far would one go to promote one’s country? Here’s one new way to do so – Airline livery.

Airline livery refers to the paint scheme applied to an aircraft. In recent years, major airline companies are trying to promote their airlines and their country with crazy, artistic and unique paint jobs on the exterior of their planes. Here are some of the interesting airline paint jobs:

EVA Air and Sanrio teamed up to create the first long range Hello Kitty jet. The charming Kitty welcomes the travelers onboard with her friends and family on both sides of the fuselage. The aircrafts also have unique names such as Speed Puff, Magic Star and Happy Music.

Air India Express came up with some unique liveries depicting the cultural aspects of India. Each Boeing 737-800 has a different tail art with each side of the tail reflecting an aspect of India. Indian musical instruments like the tabla and sitar; dance forms like Bharathanatyam and Kathakali, and the famous Taj Mahal have been exhibited in this manner.

Disney channel, in partnership with Jet Airways, ran a campaign called Jet Set Go, which took 30 winning kids and their families on all-expenses paid trip from India to Hong Kong Disneyland. A special Jet Airways aircraft, branded with Disney’s favorite characters, flew the winners there.

Air New Zealand had unveiled its stunning 777-300 aircraft, which was set as a flying billboard for the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In fact, New Zealand is the home of the J.R.R.Tolkien’s Middle Earth. The Hobbit movies will be important to New Zealand’s tourism industry in the coming years as international tourists will be inspired to come, see and experience for themselves the landscapes which have shaped the movies.

British Airways, as a part of its celebration of the launch of its airline service from London to Chengdu, China, had painted the front of a Boeing 777-200 to look like a panda. Chengdu is one of China’s most economically significant cities. It is best known for its fiery Sichuan cuisine, its teahouses and for its iconic and extremely rare giant pandas-the inspiration behind this smiling panda art.