May 2016 saw the delivery of the world’s first “co-branded 777.” The Boeing 777-300ER, largely painted in Boeing’s house livery, was delivered to Taiwan’s China Airlines at a special ceremony in Everett. To this day, it appears that the aircraft registered as B-18007, has retained this special livery, with China Airlines’ “Red Plum Blossom” tailfin. But what was the reason for this rare paint job?
Celebrating 100 years
To get right to the point, China Airlines’ special co-branded 777 was a move to celebrate Boeing’s 100th birthday. The US planemaker was founded in July of 1916 and had organized a number of centennary celebrations in 2016 for its special milestone.
The delivery of the 777-300ER to China Airlines also marked the carrier’s 10th delivery of the type. While a little less special than a 100th anniversary, having 10 777-300ERs is something else worth celebrating.
“We are delighted to celebrate 100 years of Boeing by working together with Boeing to accomplish the first co-branded livery 777-300ER…
“This is our 10th 777 from Boeing and since our first 777 entered into service in 2014, we have been exceedingly satisfied with its outstanding performance which was further affirmed by our happy passengers.” –Steve Chang, Vice President of Corporate Planning, China Airlines via official statement
Ray Conner, the President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes at the time noted that the airplane was “the perfect symbol” of the enduring 50+ years of partnership that it had with China Airlines.
Not the first co-branded livery
This co-branded 777 isn’t actually the first of its kind. In fact, it’s not even China Airlines’ first co-branded jet. In 2004, the Taiwanese carrier first used Boeing’s co-branded livery. However, this was on its 747-400.
The co-branded 747 was nicknamed the ‘Blue Whale’ by the airline and took the title of “the first co-branded twin-aisle airplane in the world.”
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Interstingly, Boeing has collaborated with a few other airlines on co-branded liveries. These include a 737-900ER for Lion Air as well as an Alaska Airlines 737-800 (although this jet has since been repainted). Photos of the two aircraft are below:
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Why are co-branded liveries a thing?
As you can see from the above images, it’s not just special anniversaries that call for co-branded liveries. For airlines, having a co-branded livery featuring the planemaker’s own style can be a way to celebrate a newly launched type and/or a newly introduced type for the fleet. An airline might also want to promote that it has the latest type of aircraft as a sign of a modern fleet.
Additionally, the more of a planemaker’s identity can be spotted flying around the world, the happier they are. This can be a good way to build relations between companies. Airbus, in fact, has an entire page dedicated to branding guidelines when it comes to airlines and their use of Airbus markings in their liveries.
“It is Airbus branding strategy to propose the Airbus logo and corresponding aircraft type designation to each customer as part of their aircraft livery. Nevertheless, its adoption is the customer’s choice.” -Airbus
What do you think of co-branded liveries? Are you a fan? Let us know in the comments.
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