Featuring 44 vibrant colours from AkzoNobel, the aircraft now holds the record for the most colours ever applied to a C919 and represents China Southern Airlines’ first C919 delivered directly from COMAC with a full-body custom design.
AkzoNobel has achieved a remarkable milestone with COMAC’s new C919, which recently completed its maiden flight sporting a striking “Beautiful Greater Bay Area” livery.
The “Beautiful Greater Bay Area” livery has been unveiled as the official themed design for the 15th National Games and the National Para Games, celebrating the cultural richness of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.
Using AkzoNobel’s advanced colour development and aerospace coating technologies, the team brought to life iconic elements such as the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, Lingnan motifs, and China Southern’s kapok flower emblem, all expressed through the 44 vivid colours crafted at the Dongguan facility. Described as a “work of art in the sky,” the design reflects both national pride and technological innovation.
The livery was applied using AkzoNobel’s Aerodur™ 3001 BCCC exterior coating system, which offers vibrant colour, durability, and a more sustainable coating solution. All colour formulations were prepared ahead of schedule at the Dongguan Aerospace Coatings facility, which has received COMAC certification to produce base coats and colour formulations for the C919 programme.
This achievement follows AkzoNobel’s successful collaboration with China Southern Airlines on the “Vibrant Greater Bay Area” Airbus A350. For that project, the team developed more than 50 bespoke colours at the Dongguan site in just two weeks, demonstrating their capability for precision, performance, and artistry on a global scale.
“Drawing on our extensive global experience in creating unique and vibrant aircraft liveries, we are honored to have tailor-made a basecoat / clearcoat system for this stunning COMAC C919, our first themed livery for a Chinese-made aircraft,” has stated Marius Vasiliu, Asia Director of Aerospace Coatings at AkzoNobel.