• Emirates is ramping up operations via its A380 jets to meet travel demands. Photo: AP
    Emirates is ramping up operations via its A380 jets to meet travel demands. Photo: AP
  • The A380 is the world's largest passenger jet. Photo: Getty Images
    The A380 is the world's largest passenger jet. Photo: Getty Images
  • Emirates is the world's biggest A380 customer and offers shower spas and an upper-deck lounge for premium passengers. Photo: Emirates
    Emirates is the world's biggest A380 customer and offers shower spas and an upper-deck lounge for premium passengers. Photo: Emirates
  • Emirates A380 economy class. Photo: Emirates
    Emirates A380 economy class. Photo: Emirates
  • Inside Emirates new A380 Premium Economy cabin. Courtesy Emirates
    Inside Emirates new A380 Premium Economy cabin. Courtesy Emirates
  • The Emirates super jumbo is known for its luxury. Photo: Emirates
    The Emirates super jumbo is known for its luxury. Photo: Emirates
  • The grand staircase on an Emirates airline Airbus A380. Photo: AP
    The grand staircase on an Emirates airline Airbus A380. Photo: AP
  • A custom A380 livery dedicated to Dubai’s Museum of the Future. Photo: Emirates
    A custom A380 livery dedicated to Dubai’s Museum of the Future. Photo: Emirates
  • The United for Wildlife Emirates A380 before its first flight to London. Photo: Emirates
    The United for Wildlife Emirates A380 before its first flight to London. Photo: Emirates
  • The Emirates Year of Zayed A380 makes a scenic landing in Hong Kong. Photo: Emirates
    The Emirates Year of Zayed A380 makes a scenic landing in Hong Kong. Photo: Emirates
  • The Emirates FA Cup branded A380. Photo: Emirates
    The Emirates FA Cup branded A380. Photo: Emirates

Airbus A380 special livery history: From Year of Zayed to Real Madrid — in pictures


Ian Oxborrow
  • English
  • Arabic

The Airbus A380 has had many colourful moments during its years flying over the UAE, including fly-bys of Louvre Abu Dhabi and the annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

But it has also injected some extra colour into skies all over the world with its array of special liveries designed to mark important local themes and occasions.

They won't be lasting forever, though, after Airbus announced that it is to end production of the A380 by 2021.

Not before Emirates, Airbus's best customer, takes 14 more of the world's largest passenger plane of which it has 108 already in its fleet, so there could be a few more special liveries to come.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates, said the A380 is a "differentiator" for Emirates and the aircraft "will remain a pillar" of its fleet until the 2030s.

It hasn't just been Emirates that has taken paint jobs to a new level in the UAE, with Etihad also getting in on the act.

We have seen the Year of Zayed livery on 10 Emirates aircraft — the first of which was unveiled in November 2017 on the fuselage of Emirates' 100th A380.

Football has been a regular theme as well due to Emirates' sponsorship deals with a host of top European clubs, including Real Madrid and AC Milan.

The Dubai carrier also became the title sponsor for the FA Cup — the world's oldest football cup competition — and subsequently rolled out a dedicated A380 livery.

In 2015, Emirates took the fight against illegal wildlife trade to the skies by unveiling two of its A380 jets dressed in livery depicting threatened animals.

Etihad meanwhile emblazoned planes with a special branded livery to tie in with China's 11.11 Global Shopping Festival in 2017.

According to Emirates, aircraft appearance can affect the operating and technical performance of the plane. A good paint job can also help reduce fuel burn.

It carries out its paint work at the Emirates Aircraft Appearance Centre, the world’s largest aircraft painting facility owned by an airline.

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The Airbus A380 through the years

  • An Emirates Airline Airbus A380 arrives at Manchester airport in northern England. Bloomberg
    An Emirates Airline Airbus A380 arrives at Manchester airport in northern England. Bloomberg
  • Airbus CEO Tom Enders, second right, CFO Harald Wilhelm, left, president of Airbus Commercial Aricraft Guillaume Faury, second left, and Rainer Ohler, Executive Vice President Commuincations, present Airbus 2018 results in Toulouse, southern France. AP Photo
    Airbus CEO Tom Enders, second right, CFO Harald Wilhelm, left, president of Airbus Commercial Aricraft Guillaume Faury, second left, and Rainer Ohler, Executive Vice President Commuincations, present Airbus 2018 results in Toulouse, southern France. AP Photo
  • An A380 Airbus superjumbo sits on the tarmac where it is dismantled at the site of French recycling and storage aerospace company Tarmac Aerosave in Tarbes, southwest France. Reuters
    An A380 Airbus superjumbo sits on the tarmac where it is dismantled at the site of French recycling and storage aerospace company Tarmac Aerosave in Tarbes, southwest France. Reuters
  • The iconic double-decker was a tough sale to airlines. Reuters
    The iconic double-decker was a tough sale to airlines. Reuters
  • A Emirats first class cabin in an Airbus A380. AP Photo
    A Emirats first class cabin in an Airbus A380. AP Photo
  • The interior stairs that connect the two passenger decks of an Airbus A380 are shown during a press tour of the new plane at New York's Kennedy International Airport. European plane maker Airbus said, that it will stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 for lack of customers, abandoning the world's biggest passenger jet and one of the aviation industry's most ambitious and most troubled endeavors. AP Photo
    The interior stairs that connect the two passenger decks of an Airbus A380 are shown during a press tour of the new plane at New York's Kennedy International Airport. European plane maker Airbus said, that it will stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 for lack of customers, abandoning the world's biggest passenger jet and one of the aviation industry's most ambitious and most troubled endeavors. AP Photo
  • The first class section on board an Emirates Airbus A380. AP Photo
    The first class section on board an Emirates Airbus A380. AP Photo
  • First class section of an Emirates airlines Airbus A380. AP Photo
    First class section of an Emirates airlines Airbus A380. AP Photo
  • A lounge area await guests in the second floor business class. AP Photo
    A lounge area await guests in the second floor business class. AP Photo
  • A visitor, lower left, walks out from an Airbus A380 on display at the Farnborough International Airshow. AP
    A visitor, lower left, walks out from an Airbus A380 on display at the Farnborough International Airshow. AP
  • Parts of Airbus A380 airplanes are stocked at the Airbus plant. EPA
    Parts of Airbus A380 airplanes are stocked at the Airbus plant. EPA
  • Sections of an Airbus A380 are seen outside the final assembly line site at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac, near Toulouse, France. REUTERS
    Sections of an Airbus A380 are seen outside the final assembly line site at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac, near Toulouse, France. REUTERS
  • The first Airbus A380 passenger aircraft, MSN 01, is moved between hangers at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France. Bloomberg
    The first Airbus A380 passenger aircraft, MSN 01, is moved between hangers at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France. Bloomberg
  • Workers gather in front of the nose cone of an Airbus A380 at the opening ceremony for the new final-assembly plant at Airbus's Toulouse. Bloomberg
    Workers gather in front of the nose cone of an Airbus A380 at the opening ceremony for the new final-assembly plant at Airbus's Toulouse. Bloomberg
  • Employees work on the interior fuselage section of an Airbus A380 . Bloomberg
    Employees work on the interior fuselage section of an Airbus A380 . Bloomberg
  • An employee inspects the interior of the upper passenger deck of an Airbus A380 in Hamburg. Bloomberg
    An employee inspects the interior of the upper passenger deck of an Airbus A380 in Hamburg. Bloomberg
  • The fuselage of an Airbus A380 aircraft. Bloomberg
    The fuselage of an Airbus A380 aircraft. Bloomberg
  • A flight attendant arranges a pillow on a leather seat in a mock-up Suite, designed by Pierrejean Design Studio, during the unveiling of the new cabins for the Singapore Airlines. Bloomberg
    A flight attendant arranges a pillow on a leather seat in a mock-up Suite, designed by Pierrejean Design Studio, during the unveiling of the new cabins for the Singapore Airlines. Bloomberg
  • An employee inspects the surface of an Airbus A380 wing during production at the Airbus SAS factory in Broughton, UK. Bloomberg
    An employee inspects the surface of an Airbus A380 wing during production at the Airbus SAS factory in Broughton, UK. Bloomberg