Emirates Airlines, the world’s largest international airline, has unveiled a distinctive new livery for its aircraft, in the third version of the airline’s brand identity since 1985.
Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said: “Aircraft livery is the most instantly recognizable branding of any airline. It is a visual representation of our unique identity, proudly displayed by our aircraft across all the cities we serve around the world. We update the livery of our aircraft to keep it modern, without losing key elements of our identity, such as the UAE flag on the tailfin and Arabic script.
Aircraft enthusiasts will immediately notice the changes to the tail fin and wingtips. In the new design, the UAE flag appears on the plane’s tail fin in a more dynamic and fluid way, as a three-dimensional artwork. The ends of the wings are painted red, with the Emirates logo appearing in white Arabic calligraphy.
Passengers on board will be able, with a view from the window, to see the colors of the UAE flag painted on the tip of the wing facing the cockpit.
The name “Emirates Airlines” appears in gold on both sides of the fuselage, in both Arabic and English, in a bolder and larger image of 32.5%. As for the belly of the plane from below, Emirates Airlines has preserved its distinctive red branding that it created in 2005.
The Emirates.com website address has been removed from the new design, which is the third version of the official brand colors of Emirates Airlines.
The first cladding
The original livery, revealed with the launch of flight operations in 1985, underwent its first upgrade 14 years later when the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777-300 at the 1999 Dubai Airshow.
The first aircraft with the new Emirates livery, an Airbus A380, exited the Emirates Engineering hangars at Dubai International Airport this week. Munich will be its first destination on flight (EK051) today.
The new livery will gradually be circulated to the rest of the operating Emirates fleet. By the end of 2023, 24 aircraft are expected to undergo a brand upgrade, including 17 Boeing 777-300ERs. All of the airline’s new aircraft, from the first Airbus A350 to enter the fleet in August 2024, will also feature the new look.
It is noteworthy that the original “Emirates” livery in 1985 was designed by British design firm Negus & Negus. The design team at Emirates Airlines then designed all the colors of the aircraft. Over the years, the team has also designed all the liveries carried by the airline’s aircraft to promote the airline’s sponsorship programmes, and for special events such as the livery for the fiftieth jubilee of the UAE and Expo 2020 Dubai.