Plane spotters, get your cameras ready. Etihad Airways has sent one of its Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners back into the skies wearing a full McLaren Formula One livery — mostly that unmistakable 'papaya' orange the team has run since 2017, with black accents. The jet, registered A6-BMI, was unveiled at a launch event at Etihad's engineering facilities in Abu Dhabi that doubled as a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest single-piece kabuki cloth reveal. It is the first time a widebody aircraft has ever carried an F1 team's livery.
The paint job is part of a broader deal: Etihad became an Official Partner of McLaren Racing back in late February, backing both the Formula One team and United Autosports' WEC Hypercar effort. The airline's branding now appears on the MCL40's rear wing and halo, and it has been the title sponsor of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009 — so this is a deepening of an existing relationship rather than a new flirtation. Both Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown talked up the plane as a way to take the partnership to fans worldwide.
Practically, the aircraft was out of service for roughly a month while being repainted. Its last flight before the makeover arrived in Abu Dhabi from Jakarta on October 11, and since re-entering service it has been working high-profile routes: a Madrid round trip on November 10, Phuket in Thailand on November 11, and Dublin on November 12. Given that Etihad's 787s serve destinations across the globe, the orange jet could pop up at an airport near you before long.
So why should a regular traveller care? Honestly, mostly for the fun of it — booking a flight on A6-BMI is a cheap thrill for F1 fans, and there's real bragging rights in spotting or flying on the only papaya-painted Dreamliner in the world. Etihad hasn't announced any special onboard experience tied to the livery yet; this is a branding exercise, not a new cabin. But if your dates are flexible and you fancy a photo of a giant orange widebody on the tarmac, tracking the registration on Flightradar24 is the easy way to do it.
The timing is savvy, too. McLaren is riding high off Lando Norris's 2025 championship-winning season, so the airline is attaching itself to a winning brand just as Abu Dhabi's Grand Prix weekend continues to draw crowds every December. Expect the jet to be worked hard on marquee routes where the marketing value is highest.
