Flight of fancy

Christopher Hooton

Planes are inherently cinematic, aesthetically pleasing vehicles, so it’s kind of a shame that most charter jets are simply painted a block colour and then have a logo slapped on the fin. Icelandair has opted for something more tasteful to mark its 80th anniversary this year, theming one of the Boeing 757-200s in its fleet around the breathtaking Vatnajökull glacier in the south east of Iceland.

Spray painted by a team of skilled artists, the job took 24 days and involved 195 litres of paint. The cabin of the plane was also given a glacial spin, with ambient blue lighting evoking the atmosphere beneath the ice. Hell, even the sick bags are glacier print. The Vatnajökull glacier is more than 8,000 sq km in size and is the most active in Iceland thanks to the three volcanoes beneath its surface: Öræfajökull, Báròarbunga and Grímsvötn.

Icelandair has been supporting ‘Friends of Vatnajökull’ since it launched in 2009, a non-profit that supports research and educational activities around the glacier. The Vatnajökull plane will fly the company’s transatlantic routes. — The Independent