Sheikh Hamdan reposts playful video of Emirates plane pretending it's a bird

The clip was made by local content creator Mostafa Eldiasty

A still from Mostafa Eldiasty's playful Emirates video. Photo: Instagram / @100.pixels

A playful video showing an Emirates plane flapping its wings and cavorting with a bird has received the royal seal of approval.

Dubai 3D artist and content creator Mostafa Eldiasty created the clip, which shows an Emirates A380 aircraft plane preparing to land, before coming face to face with a bird mid-descent. In the digitally altered video, the plane comes to a surprised stop, before it starts flapping its wings and circling the bird. The caption reads: “Cabin crew prepare for landing”.

Emirates, which was clearly in on the joke, commented: “Well you know what they say: Birds of a feather, flock together.”

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, posted the clip to his Instagram stories on Friday night, asking his 15 million followers: “Who wants to join me on this flight?”

Eldiasty, who posts as @100.pixels on Instagram, has spent the past six years working with brands to create content that is “out of the box”, he tells The National. “One of my favourite works was the flappy Emirates airplane video,” he adds. “The idea came after I was contacted by Emirates’ marketing team to create something visually interesting for their A380 airplane. I did the work on the project myself and it came out really well.”

Eldiasty has created a number of other videos that put an unexpected spin on classic Dubai sites. In one of his other videos, a helicopter descends to land at the Museum of the Future, which opens up like a giant spaceship. To mark the opening of the museum, he produced a video that shows the museum blanketed in a giant UAE flag, which is lifted off by a helicopter to reveal the structure below. There are also GMC trucks that break out of their showrooms and perform gravity-defying tricks on the road, and giant Burberry handbags parked on the beach on the Palm Jumeirah. The A380 has also made an prior appearance — that time seen drifting on the runway like it is auditioning for a role in a Fast and the Furious film.

Eldiasty says it feels amazing to be reposted by Sheikh Hamdan, although this is not the first time it has happened. “It definitely gives me more confidence about the work I do and, of course, motivates me to create more content about Dubai and publish it on social media. I couldn’t be more grateful, this wasn’t the first time his highness reposted my work. There was another Emirates plane drift video I created and he reshared that as well.

“In the past two years social media has become very powerful, but I could never imagine that my work would reach this far. I am very thankful and definitely proud of myself.”

Emirates' first flights in October 1985 used leased aircraft. Photo: Emirates

An Emirates A380 in flight. Photo: Emirates

Emirates Premium Economy is the airline's newest cabin class. DXB Terminal 3, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Skydiver and stuntwoman Nicole Smith-Ludvik stars in Emirates' latest ad campaign at the top of the Burj Khalifa. Emirates

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, takes a tour of the Emirates A380 airliner during the opening ceremony at Dubai Airshow in November 2013. AFP

Airbus workers celebrate in front of the Airbus A380 on July 28, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany. The world's largest passenger liner was built for Emirates airline. Getty Images

Terminal 3, the exclusive terminal for Emirates airline, was opened in 2008. Photo: Emirates

Emirates chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in November 2001, with a model of the Airbus A3XX superjumbo jet (now known as the A380) at the Farnborough Air Show. Reuters