Summary

  • Delta Air Lines unveiled a custom Team USA livery on an Airbus A350 for the upcoming 2024 Olympics in France.
  • Japan Airlines painted an Olympic livery for the 2020 games, showing support for the Japanese Olympic team.
  • Air Canada promoted its national 2020 Olympics team with bold titles on a Boeing 787-9, garnering support for the athletes.

A nation’s airlines (and especially the flag carrier) are often something of an ambassador for the country they operate from. National pride runs high during the Olympics, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that airlines around the world paint their airliners in special Olympic-themed livery. Many of the Olympic-themed liveries have been somewhat conservative, but there are plenty of examples of airlines making a splash with their liveries around the world.

Airlines are already preparing for the 2024 Olympics (to be held in France). There are considerable logistics in just flying the teams around the world to the Olympics. Air France is getting ready for the Olympics with a 9% network increase this summer.

1

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines has unveiled a new “TEAM USA” livery on a new Airbus A350.

Aircraft:

Airbus A350

Olympics:

Summer Olympics 2024

Total American medals won:

TBA

Delta Air Lines is the official airline of Team USA. Delta has just unveiled its custom Airbus A350 Team USA aircraft livery in France. The livery features “TEAM USA” printed over the fuselage of the aircraft, with a backdrop of red, white, and blue stripes. The livery displays Delta’s celebration of the athletes’ journeys and “connects them with their dreams as the official airline of Team USA.”

Delta Air Lines Olympics livery

Photo: Delta Air Lines

Delta states, “The Team USA-inspired A350 celebrates Delta’s eight-year partnership with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which runs through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.” Delta’s new livery was unveiled in France’s southern city of Toulouse, where the Airbus airliner was built.

2

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines was the official Japanese 2020 Olympics airline.

Aircraft:

Boeing 787-8

Olympics:

Summer Olympics 2020

Total Japanese medals won:

57 (inc. 26 gold)

Japan hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics (which was delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19). In 2020, Japan Airlines painted one of its aircraft in Olympic livery, reading “TOKYO 2020,” and included Tokyo 2020 mascots, Miraitowa and Someity. Japan Airlines also worked with All Nippon Airways to transport the Olympic flame from Greece to Japan. Another Japan Airlines jet that carried the Olympic Torch for the 2020 Olympics read “Hope Lights Our Way” and “TOYKO 2020 OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY” with a figure of an athlete carrying the Olympic Torch.

Japan Airlines 2020 Olympic livery

Photo: Japan Airlines

This wasn’t the first time Japan Airlines had transported the Olympic torch. It first carried the Olympic flame from Athens to Japan for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. The airline has been supporting Japan’s Olympic and Paralympic Teams as the Official Airline of the Japanese Olympic Committee since 1992.

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3

Air Canada

Air Canada bamboozled “FLY THE FLAG” and “HAUT DE DRAPEAU” its aircraft in 2021.

Aircraft:

Boeing 787-9

Olympics:

Summer Olympics 2020

Total Canadian medals won:

24 (inc. 7 gold)

In 2021, Air Canada supported its national 2020 Olympics team by adding special titles to one of its Boeing 787-9 C-FVLQ (the aircraft was three and a half years old at the time). The titles included “FLY THE FLAG” and the French translation “HAUT DE DRAPEAU (Canada is bilingual in English and French). It also reused the title “GO CANADA GO!”

Air Canada, Olympic Livery, Boeing 787

Photo: Air Canada

The painting was simple but bold and certainly got the message across. The lettering was written in large black and gold lettering (Go Canada Go! was in all gold lettering). The Canadian team went on to earn seven gold medals, seven silver medals, and 10 bronze medals for a total of 24 medals.

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4

All Nippon Airways (ANA)

ANA’s “HELLO 2020 JET” livery was one of the most flamboyant Olympic livery schemes.

Aircraft:

B777-200ER

Olympics:

Summer Olympics 2020

Total Japanese medals won:

57 (inc. 26 gold)

Perhaps one of the most dramatic Olympic liveries was the ANA “HELLO 2020 JET.” The brightly colored livery spanned the full length of the fuselage and included famous Japanese landmarks (including a prominent Mount Fuji) and depictions of some of the top Olympic sports.

All Nippon Airways special livery "Hello 2020 Jet" scheme

Photo: viper-zero l Shutterstock

ANA stated that the name had been selected on the premise that it should be simple, easy to say, and could easily be associated with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The caption was also ANA’s catch copy for the Games Tokyo 2020 “, which was also the sub-theme for this design contest ‘HELLO BLUE, HELLO FUTURE.'”

5

Air China

Air China painted its jets in rich Olympic liveries for both the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing 2022.

Aircraft:

Boeing 737-89L

Olympics:

Winter Olympics 2022

Total Chinese medals won:

15 (inc. 9 gold)

Air China has a rich history of painting its aircraft for the Olympics (Air China was the official airline of the 2008 Beijing Olympics). When China hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, it painted a trio of new Boeing 737-800s in liveries featuring the games’ Five Friendlies / Fuwa children mascots.

Air China with newly-painted 2022 Winter Olympics livery

China also hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics. For the games, they painted a Boeing 737-800 with a deep blue rare featuring a friendly panda bear and other characters. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, China earned 100 medals (including 48 gold medals – the most gold medals of any team). China earned 15 medals in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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