AkzoNobel Gives A Makeover to the Azul Airlines' "Blue Macaw" Livery

Date: 16/12/2020

The AkzoNobel's aerospace coatings team collaborated with Brazilian artist Pardal to create the new livery of Azul Airlines' the "Blue Macaw" Embraer 195 E2 airplane.

AkzoNobel, Azul Airlines and Embraer collaborated to create one of the most colourful liveries in South America for the "Blue Macaw" Embraer 195 E2. The new livery features the blue macaw (Spix's macaw), a national symbol in Brazil. Although considered extinct in the wild, a program is underway to reintroduce the bird to its natural habitat.

To create the new livery, AkzoNobel worked together with Brazilian artist Pardal, who created a design that pays tribute to the blue macaw and the protection of biodiversity.

For the project, 58 colours have been used, half of which are custom and hat to be mixed in only two weeks. The Embraer paint team in São Paulo applied AkzoNobel's Aerodur 3001/3002 basecoat clearcoat system to bring the artwork to life.

AkzoNobel's sustainable initiatives in Brazil

Joining the company's aerospace coatings team in welcoming the blue macaw back to Brazil, decorative paints colleagues supported a Let's Colour project to restore public spaces. More than 2,400 litres of Coral paint and 620 litres of Weathershield, Ambience and Easycare paint were used to refresh the inside and outside of a local theatre and church.

"This colourful project had a lot of moving parts bringing together all the elements of our 'People. Planet. Paint.' approach to sustainability," says Daniel Geiger Campos, President of AkzoNobel South America. "While working with our partners to share the story of the blue macaw, we were also able to showcase AkzoNobel's incredible range: the same brand that manufactures high-tech solutions for aircraft also offers innovative and high-quality Coral products to transform your homes and communities."

It's not the first time AkzoNobel has collaborated with Embraer on an airplane project concerning wildlife: previous artworks include life-like tiger, eagle, snow leopard and shark.