DUBAI // It takes a lot to give a passenger plane a makeover – hundreds of man hours and an aircraft hangar the size of two football pitches, for a start.
Twenty-one aircraft were given a makeover last year at Emirates Airline's state-of-the-art paint hangar – the world's largest owned by an airline.
The planes given a new look, which make up nearly 10 per cent of the airline’s fleet, were stripped of their exterior paint and given a new coat.
The mammoth task took 6,550 hours – 273 days of non-stop work.
The paint team also handled more than 60,000 other touch-ups on the exterior and interior of aircraft, plus work on the cabins.
Emirates has the world’s largest fleet of A380s and Boeing 777s. The airline’s hangar, at Dubai International Airport, is more than twice the size of a football pitch and has been designed to deliver quality that exceeds the standards of aircraft manufacturers.
“Our aircraft livery is one of the most recognisable and visible aspects of our brand. It is what people see in the sky and the first thing our passengers see at their boarding gates,” said Adel Al Redha, executive vice president and chief operations officer at Emirates.
“It’s not just about looking good. The paint coat has to withstand fierce weather conditions, including severe wind, bitter cold and searing heat, and an exterior coat that is clean of debris and imperfections improves aerodynamics and reduces fuel consumption.”
He said Emirates flew a young and efficient fleet, but with fuel prices at consistently high levels, every little bit of efficiency counts.
Emirates’ paint hanger uses the latest technologies and systems, including fully controlled environments that regulate temperature, humidity and airflow – all critical factors for the perfect glossy coat.
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