I have to pinch myself to make sure that it’s real. Quite regularly, this job puts me in a situation where standing under a bright-orange aeroplane with one of the country’s business leaders before meet- ing a personal hero was definitely one of those moments.
At Etihad Engineering in Abu Dhabi on Monday, a Dreamliner was revealed dressed head to tail in McLaren papaya. No one had ever put a Formula 1 team’s colours on a wide-body passenger jet.
Before the big reveal (a World Record, apparently), Gulf News was given exclusive early access to the stunning aircraft and Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, who showed me around the shimmering paintwork before sitting down to update me on everything from fuel prices to route expansion.
If that wasn’t enough, Zak Brown, who runs McLaren Racing, came for a chat after the unveiling. I have to admit to be- ing a big fan of the British-based team and Brown himself. They say don’t meet your heroes, but Brown was everything I hoped he would be: engaging, positive, polite and someone who lives for racing. I could have talked to him for hours.
Despite the companies being in very different industries, there’s a lot of crossover, including a lot of travelling, a focus on premium and winning in their markets.
