The fact Etihad has a new livery is not a secret anymore, with tail fins on both the A380 and 787 surfacing a few weeks back on social media, with speculation rife on whether these were special one off liveries, or a sporty new look for the relatively young carrier. But this evening in Hamburg the airline revealed the bold new look for the entire fleet. The airline has injected a new lease of life to an already premium product with their announcement of their new Residence, Apartments and Studios, as well as the revolutionary Economy Smart Seat with fixed wing headrest earlier this year.
The new livery may look familiar as the airline has already started rolling out the same graphic across their passenger experience, from their new arrivals lounge to written materials. The fragmented geometric look is both on trend, and shouldn’t suffer from premature dating due to the simplicity and repetitive design, a technique designers utilise to ensure longevity in their concepts. JetBlue already introduced their ‘Prism’ graphic almost a year ago to the day, to celebrate the unveiling of their brand new A321s.
Fabrice Bregier President of Airbus, mentions on the new design, “It looks stunning. We look forward to delivering the A380 to Etihad before the end of the year. The partnership will grow between both companies over the years ahead. In 2017 Etihad will receive one of the first A350-1000’s”
Unveiled in front of Hanger 221, and in a myriad of earthy tones, Etihad’s new livery draws on the colour palette of the sprawling desert the planes will call home, and perfectly match the golden hues found inside their new and existing interiors. Notice that the onboard classes will be losing their ‘pearl, coral and diamond’ monikers – and the original more colourful interior colour palettes have over the years been muted and brought in-line with a more sophisticated and elegant interior concept.
Peter Knapp, Global Creative Officer of Landor Associates, said: “Etihad Airways is undoubtedly a leading airline on the international stage and this new livery is a real step change in the industry. I believe there will be nothing like it on any apron in the world.
“It tells the remarkable story of this region and of Abu Dhabi’s past, present and future, providing a narrative for an innovative airline brand. We used the ambient geometry present in the architecture and culture of the emirate and reinterpreted it with a sense of Arabian modernism which has become synonymous with Etihad and Abu Dhabi itself.”
James Hogan, “today Etihad Airways announces two significant milestones. The first A380, and the launch of the striking new livery. This A380 aircraft will quite frankly change air travel forever. Next year we will launch 4 more A380s, enabling us to serve Sydney and New York with the A380 too.”
Aviation legends, Landor Associates were commissioned to create the heritage-bound design for the airline, matching the interior vision created by the EDC. The angular patterns represent Abu Dhabi’s modern architecture, whilst the colours nod to the full extent of the landscapes of Emirates. To cement the new look, An A321 will also be delivered later this year. As for all those wanting to see the new look, fear not, within 3 years, every aircraft will be painted in the new livery.
For those wanting the full hi-res and beautiful images, please check back tomorrow for an update to this article.
TheDesignAir 
Can’t wait to see it in LHR, but IMO i love the old livery
Ok definitively better then the “Gov” style livery they used to fly. Breakthough look, Very collerative design with the “Arty” brand positioning of Abu Dhabi Emirate and Arabic geometry roots as well.
However the execution is upsetting me somehow. Color contrast between the light (grey sades) and darker (brown) shapes, made the whole tail design kind of… unaccomplished, especially under bright lighting and distance (?)…
Is EY confirming a new airline brand era of the “No Tail Logo” (joining Iberia in the row)?… However, they did not hoock the opportunity to modify the logotype font… too bad…one lady clothing shop in my street is using the same one 😦 … but who care ! We all know that beauty is only skin deep, and this flying gem got some exiciting stuff inside to be experimented 😉
Definitely on trend but i’m not blown away by it. I agree with Remy…colour contrasts are making parts of it look unfinished in a way. I liked the use of it in their branding for inside the cabins as a detail but as a livery…i’m not sold…yet….guess i need to see it in real life! 🙂
I like the logotype and I like the tail. But I’m not sure I like the two of them together. The rounded ‘E’ and ‘D’ of the logotype seems at odds with the sharp angles on the tail. I’m thinking the logotype should have been re-worked…
Liked it at first glance mainly because of colors but bored with it already. This kind of “facet” design is all over right now and will be out of style next week.
Just viewed the A380 from the lounge at Heathrow. Absolutely beautiful, and SUCH an improvement over the previous, institutional-looking tail display. Well done.