We’re all used to seeing well known airlines such as British Airways, United or KLM. Some people may think these airline designs are beautiful enough. But if you go looking a bit farther afield you can find some aircraft with liveries which blow those out of the water. I’ve put together of my top 6 best looking aircraft liveries as well as info on where you can find each plane if you want to fly on one yourself. So please read below for what I think are the best looking airline liveries you can fly on right now.
6. Qantas 787-9 Aboriginal Livery
Acknowledging Australia’s Aboriginal origins, this new livery was inspired by 1991 artwork ‘Yam Dreaming’, painted by the late artist, Emily Kame Kngwarreye. The Yam plant has been an important food source to aboriginal people and this artwork is meant to relfect that. If you want to learn more about the artist and culture surrounding her artworks, see the National Museum of Australia website.
I think this livery perfectly blends the iconic Qantas kangaroo with the more traditional aboriginal artwork. The Boeing 787-9 (reg VH-ZND) is used for many different long haul routes operated by Qantas. According to Flightradar24, it regularly flies routes such as London to Perth, one of the longest routes in the world which I covered in this article. It also operates on other routes such as Sydney to Los Angeles, Dallas and Johannesburg.
5. British Airways BEA Airbus A319
My No. 5 pick is included thanks to its aviation heritage, and the fact I’ve actually seen it in person. British Airways was formed from two separate airlines, BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA (British European Airways), which merged in 1974. This Airbus A319 with reg G-EUPJ was given this iconic livery in 2019. The livery was used by BEA from 1959 to 1968.
I saw this plane at Heathrow (apologies for poor picture quality). It is flown on routes all over Europe but sadly is rumored to be retired soon. So if you want to see it be sure to act soon. It’s scheduled flight details can be found here.
4. Air New Zealand All Black 787-9
In contrast to their typical white livery, Air New Zealand have inverted their colours for an “all blacks” livery on a few of their aircraft. Not only is this a nod to their national rugby team, but black is also one of the national colours of the Māori people. Combine this with the Silver Fern and Māori Koru on the tail of the plane and you have a livery that truly represents New Zealand.
Though Air New Zealand have this livery on a few aircraft, this specific example is a Boeing 787 with reg ZK-NZE. The plane was actually the first 787 delivered to Air New Zealand and the first 787 in the world to operate a commercial service back in 2014. Overall I think this livery just perfectly suits Air New Zealand. It’s also made special by how relatively rare it is to see an all black airliner.
3. ANA Turtle A380
All Nippon Airways (ANA) currently operate three Airbus A380s. They are flown on the route from Tokyo Narita to Honolulu, Hawaii and all sport Hawaiian turtle-themed liveries. Known as the “flying honu” flights (honu means turtle in Hawaiian). The livery is also intended to spread the message of preserving Hawaii’s nature.
According to ANA, the blue turtle represents Hawaii’s blue skies, the green turtle the Pacific ocean, and the orange turtle its beautiful sunset. The Airbus A380 is an incredible plane on its own and it’s good to see them being used to spread a positive message. However, the cynic in me realises that painting the largest passenger aircraft in the world as a flying turtle is also great marketing.
2. Air Tahiti Nui
As is becoming a theme in this list we have another Asia-Pacifc airline. This time it’s Air Tahiti Nui and their small fleet of just 4 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Air Tahiti Nui connect Tahiti with direct flights to Tokyo, Auckland, Seattle and Paris via Los Angeles. If you want to visit the incredible Tahiti and it’s surrounding islands such as Bora Bora then this is a good option.
The design itself speak to the heritage of the Tahitian people. The two red lines on the under carriage represent the French Polynesian flag. Whilst the intricate designs on the back are Tahitian tattoos. Even the aircraft callsigns have a hidden meaning. “Woven together our fleet names have a hidden meaning. The warrior (TOA) going forward (MUA) in the great (NUI) canoe (VAA)!”
1. EVA Air Hello Kitty Planes
EVA Air have a recurring series of Hello Kitty themed jets, a full list of which can be found here. This is my favourite livery of them all. I think it is just a very sweet and playful design. It may not be the most serious looking aircraft but it does have a certain wow factor. And I’m sure for children it is extremely exciting to fly on. It might even inspire a whole new generation of Hello Kitty fans to get into aviation. EVA currently have special liveries on select Boeing 777s, Airbus A330s and Aibus A321s.
I’m not entirely sure why EVA, a Taiwanese carrier, decided to lean so heavily on the Japanese Hello Kitty, branding. Whatever the reason though I’m thankful for it, maybe the EVA CEO just loves Hello Kitty?
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading! If you can think of any other noteworthy airline liveries please leave a comment below. This list is really just based off personal preference and there are plenty other great looking liveries out there. If you want more inspiration for cool aircraft/routes to fly on please read my other articles on the topic:
- 5 Unique airline routes to add to your bucket list
- Most unusual aircraft you can fly on today
- 5 Unique airline routes in the UK
More from me…
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