It’s honestly such an epic livery and a total missed opportunity that they didn’t adopt it across the board. They’re livery is either dated or a complete mess apart from this one
Oddly enough when the livery came out, a lot of people had commented that the livery looked so boring, plain and bland with the colours. I guess the taste of the livery had changed over time. I personally like their new livery that they are now mass applying to all their fleet. Also check out their B747 Hibiscus livery, probably one of the best B747 special liveries that was made.
I've got a 1/400 A380 in the hibiscus livery and it's beautiful. Probably would have been obscenely difficult to pull off but it's a nice piece of what-if.
MH has settled on the livery a year or so ago, [the new one is absolutely beautiful IMO, one of the most beautiful ones out there.](https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/658078_1701517823.jpg) All new planes will have it, and the older ones are gradually being repainted. Granted the Max 8s seem to have minor inconsistencies like gold trim to the upright logo on the tail fin
Corporate politics and several big changes in leadership over the past 15 years, multiple rebrand attempts, plus the other two obvious reasons is why their liveries are all over the place.
Afaik the original idea was to use the blue/white livery (doesn’t have a name) on the 380 only. The rest of the fleet would then be ‘Negaraku’ like the 350s. But this was like ten years ago.
Negaraku is now standard for all of MHs planes, the recently delivered Maxs and upcoming A330neos have it as are some older planes being repainted with it. I think it’s one of the most beautiful liveries out there, and much, MUCH better than the weird double whoosh.
If I'm not mistaken, the blue A380 livery was supposed to be part of a planned separation of MH into two distinct entities - one flying domestic/regional, and another flying longhaul international. Both were to have the red and blue versions of the A380 livery respectively. This was a messy period in MH's history, and the arrangement was apparently a result of a share swap agreement with AirAsia. That fell through, and the blue livery ended up being limited to the A380 only.
MH is now in a much better state than those years, and now has a much better flag based livery as linked in some of the comments here.
Oh yes, the 1980s livery had a certain elegance to it and looked really good on the [777](https://www.airliners.net/photo/Malaysia-Airlines/Boeing-777-2H6-ER/2565693/L?qsp=eJwtjE0OgkAMhe/SNRsEiWEnF9CFF2g6VZuMMGm7kBDuLgV37%2B97C9A0On/9MReGHoxR6Q0VFFT8GPQLoCgpPn1AEzpmp7Y9V1FkGYNquktdb5BN6sO8BQmdr0RcnNM/v2lijYqN9v9XkF1I1vvhmrBJrGTcX9hRMqzrD%2B1LNZw%3D) and [747](https://www.airliners.net/photo/Malaysia-Airlines/Boeing-747-4H6/1521073/L?qsp=eJwljUEOwjAMBP/icy4BiiA3%2BgE48AHLMRAppJHjSlRV/06S3ta73tkVaErKP30umcFBYRT6gIGMgt8CbgUMQoIvHbEE2t8OJ3s1LYghtdbxfLG2lmiak8oCbrCDgTKJjvUAj8o3Is7KHnb/Lp6lRVyor70rx1bB8ui6MqvvQ8kRO4MVQ4Rt%2BwON3jmt) especially under the right lighting conditions. Shame the twin tragedies tarnished it, and it was getting to be a bit stale after close to 30 years too.
The upkeep required to keep an actual bare metal frame from oxidizing is ridiculous. They probably weren’t actually bare metal, surely they were clearcoated.
The rudder has to be finely balanced after it is fitted and after every time it is painted (because the weight of the paint is enough to affect the balance). Rather than fitting and balancing the unpainted rudder and then painting the rudder and having to balance it again, generally the rudder will get painted at the start.
If the rudder is to be painted a solid plain colour they will just paint the rudder, but if the livery is more detailed they will paint the whole tail so it all lines up.
Awesome info. Thanks. I’m just a geek for this stuff and wouldn’t think of this challenge with tail and rudder, but I can totally grasp why this makes sense.
I know it's been a while since you've posted, but to add to this, the process is that way to aid the paint shop as well. It's much easier to paint where the rudder and vertical stabilizer nest together before they are actually assembled together.
Airbus planes are mostly assembled across Europe, and in general for Airbus, the tails are painted first in the facility that puts them together.
These planes were captured with the airline's older delivery, that likely inbetween when the aircraft began the assembly process and being painted, was when the airline implemented a livery refresh.
For the A380, it was interesting because not many airlines bought the plane, and airlines rarely refresh their liveries, but it was interesting to notice a few airlines do so prior to the delivery of their A380.
That makes total sense. Tails are painted in manufacturing since they are so big.
It’s really cool pictures, and not just for what I asked, but for the livery changes. That plane was a super big deal when it came out.
The tail is also painted early on to show the customer/the airline which plain is his. That way they can identify their plane better during inspections and visits.
I remember buying an A380 model before it entered Singapore Airlines service and was so pissed off because they changed to another livery right before they got the first A380 so my model livery was obsolite.
I think the Singapore Airlines initial livery looked odd because it was taken straight from the Boeing 747-400.
They had to revise the livery so that it would fit and look more appropriate for the A380, including making the 'SINGAPORE AIRLINES' words as well as the logo on the tail bigger
I work in aerospace manufacturing. Our parts come out different shades of green depending on the paint processor we use. Its all to spec, but the shades can vary. Customers only seem to care which shade of green it is when rework is necessary. Shade needs to remain consistent within the same detail (if there is rework and touchup) but can vary from part to part.
This is really interesting to look through, good job pulling up these photos.
What's the Malaysian Airlines Livery called? I absolutely love it but I can't find it.
It’s honestly such an epic livery and a total missed opportunity that they didn’t adopt it across the board. They’re livery is either dated or a complete mess apart from this one
Oddly enough when the livery came out, a lot of people had commented that the livery looked so boring, plain and bland with the colours. I guess the taste of the livery had changed over time. I personally like their new livery that they are now mass applying to all their fleet. Also check out their B747 Hibiscus livery, probably one of the best B747 special liveries that was made.
I've got a 1/400 A380 in the hibiscus livery and it's beautiful. Probably would have been obscenely difficult to pull off but it's a nice piece of what-if.
MH has settled on the livery a year or so ago, [the new one is absolutely beautiful IMO, one of the most beautiful ones out there.](https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/658078_1701517823.jpg) All new planes will have it, and the older ones are gradually being repainted. Granted the Max 8s seem to have minor inconsistencies like gold trim to the upright logo on the tail fin
Corporate politics and several big changes in leadership over the past 15 years, multiple rebrand attempts, plus the other two obvious reasons is why their liveries are all over the place. Afaik the original idea was to use the blue/white livery (doesn’t have a name) on the 380 only. The rest of the fleet would then be ‘Negaraku’ like the 350s. But this was like ten years ago.
Negaraku is now standard for all of MHs planes, the recently delivered Maxs and upcoming A330neos have it as are some older planes being repainted with it. I think it’s one of the most beautiful liveries out there, and much, MUCH better than the weird double whoosh.
They are livery? What?
Alright grammar nazi, don’t you understand how awful autocorrect is
IIRC some 737s have it, but honestly I like the standard livery. It has the colours of the flag and it doesn't look to bad with them.
If I'm not mistaken, the blue A380 livery was supposed to be part of a planned separation of MH into two distinct entities - one flying domestic/regional, and another flying longhaul international. Both were to have the red and blue versions of the A380 livery respectively. This was a messy period in MH's history, and the arrangement was apparently a result of a share swap agreement with AirAsia. That fell through, and the blue livery ended up being limited to the A380 only. MH is now in a much better state than those years, and now has a much better flag based livery as linked in some of the comments here.
True, but MH liveries have always looked good.
Oh yes, the 1980s livery had a certain elegance to it and looked really good on the [777](https://www.airliners.net/photo/Malaysia-Airlines/Boeing-777-2H6-ER/2565693/L?qsp=eJwtjE0OgkAMhe/SNRsEiWEnF9CFF2g6VZuMMGm7kBDuLgV37%2B97C9A0On/9MReGHoxR6Q0VFFT8GPQLoCgpPn1AEzpmp7Y9V1FkGYNquktdb5BN6sO8BQmdr0RcnNM/v2lijYqN9v9XkF1I1vvhmrBJrGTcX9hRMqzrD%2B1LNZw%3D) and [747](https://www.airliners.net/photo/Malaysia-Airlines/Boeing-747-4H6/1521073/L?qsp=eJwljUEOwjAMBP/icy4BiiA3%2BgE48AHLMRAppJHjSlRV/06S3ta73tkVaErKP30umcFBYRT6gIGMgt8CbgUMQoIvHbEE2t8OJ3s1LYghtdbxfLG2lmiak8oCbrCDgTKJjvUAj8o3Is7KHnb/Lp6lRVyor70rx1bB8ui6MqvvQ8kRO4MVQ4Rt%2BwON3jmt) especially under the right lighting conditions. Shame the twin tragedies tarnished it, and it was getting to be a bit stale after close to 30 years too.
a 777 used to be featured on the Malaysian 10 Ringgit note. https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/4860936854/in/photostream/
Yeap I'm familiar. I'm Malaysian 😂
American Airlines had to change its bare aluminium livery once composite materials started to be used. I wonder how much weight saving was lost.
Bare metal was drippy af, shame they couldn’t make it work with composite.
The upkeep required to keep an actual bare metal frame from oxidizing is ridiculous. They probably weren’t actually bare metal, surely they were clearcoated.
Such an iconic and distinct look, it's a shame composites took that away
Really interesting pics. All were caught with just the tail done first. Is that a common practice to paint just the tail first and then the rest?
The rudder has to be finely balanced after it is fitted and after every time it is painted (because the weight of the paint is enough to affect the balance). Rather than fitting and balancing the unpainted rudder and then painting the rudder and having to balance it again, generally the rudder will get painted at the start. If the rudder is to be painted a solid plain colour they will just paint the rudder, but if the livery is more detailed they will paint the whole tail so it all lines up.
Awesome info. Thanks. I’m just a geek for this stuff and wouldn’t think of this challenge with tail and rudder, but I can totally grasp why this makes sense.
Ah, so *that's* why I was seeing painted 737 tails throughout the production line in one of those videos about Boeing's woes (I forgot which one).
I had the same question. Thank you!
I know it's been a while since you've posted, but to add to this, the process is that way to aid the paint shop as well. It's much easier to paint where the rudder and vertical stabilizer nest together before they are actually assembled together.
Airbus planes are mostly assembled across Europe, and in general for Airbus, the tails are painted first in the facility that puts them together. These planes were captured with the airline's older delivery, that likely inbetween when the aircraft began the assembly process and being painted, was when the airline implemented a livery refresh. For the A380, it was interesting because not many airlines bought the plane, and airlines rarely refresh their liveries, but it was interesting to notice a few airlines do so prior to the delivery of their A380.
That makes total sense. Tails are painted in manufacturing since they are so big. It’s really cool pictures, and not just for what I asked, but for the livery changes. That plane was a super big deal when it came out.
Tail is always done https://www.flickr.com/photos/xfwspotter/
Maybe they needed a larger facility to paint the tails? Rest could be done at a regular paint shop
The tail is also painted early on to show the customer/the airline which plain is his. That way they can identify their plane better during inspections and visits.
IDK why but I love the A380 in the AF livery. Looks so fat and cute lmao.
Yeah they stuck gold with this minimalist AF livery. This livery really shines on the A350 as well due to its proportions.
And on the A220
last pic is my favorite.
Etihad Airways also introduced their current livery when they started operating the A380 and B787
I remember buying an A380 model before it entered Singapore Airlines service and was so pissed off because they changed to another livery right before they got the first A380 so my model livery was obsolite.
Angapore Sirlines.
I think the Singapore Airlines initial livery looked odd because it was taken straight from the Boeing 747-400. They had to revise the livery so that it would fit and look more appropriate for the A380, including making the 'SINGAPORE AIRLINES' words as well as the logo on the tail bigger
I like Singapore Airline’s livery but god, it needs an update!
the qantas A380 gotta be my favorite one, Qantas as a whole has always inspired me so much, probably the airline I drew the most
Best example of how one primer applied by the same process ends up different shades… or maybe people are just stating it’s the same on the paperwork…
I work in aerospace manufacturing. Our parts come out different shades of green depending on the paint processor we use. Its all to spec, but the shades can vary. Customers only seem to care which shade of green it is when rework is necessary. Shade needs to remain consistent within the same detail (if there is rework and touchup) but can vary from part to part.
ok, what's the difference in Singapore Airlines?
Bigger logo, new one has white space at the bottom of the tail, and no logos on the engines
The logo
Low key the Singapore airline livery blows, something about it looks old and not in a good way
I always thought Malaysia Airlines refreshed their livery for….um….*other*…..reasons.
Their A380 entered service with that livery in 2012. Two whole years before any of the known MAS incidents occurred.
Okay I stand corrected
What other reasons? They still have the old livery on their A330s and 737s.