planes—a nod to its partnership with New Zealand Rugby and the World Cup championship team, the “All Blacks.” One, a 777-300ER (Extended Range), is the largest all-black airplane in the world, according to the airline, which also has two Hobbit-themed 777s in its fleet. “Although there is some additional expense and effort involved in commissioning a special paint job or applying an enormous decal, we view these special aircraft as flying billboards—taking our brand to the world in a very unique way,” said Jodi Williams, head of Global Brand Development. “These special liveries have generated worldwide social media and regular media coverage for Air New Zealand.” For Qantas, its “Flying Art” paint schemes, including the one for Mendoowoorrji, celebrate the country’s indigenous population. “We’ve tried to keep this design true to the original artwork,” said Clinton Twist, senior projects engineer for Qantas. To adapt the artwork to the 737’s bumps and contours, Qantas teamed with Balarinji Design Studio, the Bedford Trust, the National Gallery of Australia and Teague, a firm that works with Boeing to design airplane liveries and interiors. Applying any 737 livery—standard or customized—requires eight painters per shift, with Boeing teams working around the clock and coordinating closely. Work typically begins late at night. Standard 737 liveries can be completed in three days; specialized jobs may take twice that long. Twin-aisle airplanes take longer to paint because of their sheer size. First painters sand and remove the green protective coating, using fire hoses to clean the airplane. They mask, prime and paint the initial color on the fuselage, fin and engines. This typically takes a day. On days two through five, painters map the design with templates and apply the paint, one section at a time. For the Qantas 737, Boeing painters used 140 vinyl and Mylar stencils to reproduce the design’s abstract blocks of black, white, red and pale gray surrounded by oval dots. A standard 737 design uses about 40 stencils. Before touching the airplane, the teams used spare 737 panels to test colors and design elements. They knew that creating the look and texture of brush strokes was critical— and not easy, since the paint is sprayed on. “We do the most complicated areas last—like fades and creating the brush strokes,” said Steve Hoye, decorative Frontiers February 2014 43
Frontiers February 2014 Issue
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