VUELING'S AIR GALLERY(01 of08)
Open Image ModalEarlier this year, Vueling outsourced the design of its Airbus A320 to, well, anyone with Instagram. To celebrate the airline passing the 50 million-passenger milestone, Vueling put out a call for Instagrammed images of its destinations, and 50 lucky winners had their shots emblazoned on the side of the plane. The photos were arranged to spell out "thanks" and "gracias." You can see more detailed versions of the photos at vuelingairgallery.com.Photo: Courtesy of Vueling
TURKISH AIRLINES'S GLOBALLY YOURS(02 of08)
Open Image ModalTurkish Airlines, on the other hand, turned the camera on itself for the design of one of its Boeing 737-800 airplanes. The photos of roughly 17,000 of the airline's employees—both current and past staffers—cover an area of more than 4,300 square feet of the plane's exterior. The photos, plus the "Globally Yours" tagline, are meant to demonstrate that the Turkish Airlines family is always on duty somewhere in the world.Photo: Courtesy of Turkish Airlines
KULULA'S FLYING 101(03 of08)
Open Image ModalYou don't need a flight lesson every time you get into a plane, but Kulula's Boeing 737-800 will give you one anyway. The plane is covered in helpful diagrams, such as an arrow that points to the captain's window and differentially declares "captain, my captain," or one that points out the plane's black box before parenthetically noting that it's actually orange. (We'll let you figure out what "the mile-high club initiation chamber" refers to.) Get a closer look at kulula.com/flights/fleet/gallery.Photo: Courtesy of Kulula
BRITISH AIRWAY'S GOLDEN DOVE(04 of08)
Open Image ModalLook up in the sky: it's a bird and a plane. In honor of the London Olympics, British Airways had nine Airbus 319s transformed into golden doves. The design came courtesy of Pascal Anson, an up-and-coming artist from Brighton.Photo: Courtesy of G Lee/British Airways
QANTAS AIRWAYS' DREAMING PLANES(05 of08)
Open Image ModalStarting in the mid '90s, Quantas has used its planes to showcase Australia's ancient cultures. It started in 1994 with "Wunala Dreaming," a Boeing 747-400 that featured a bright, graphic design—created by a team of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists—that uses motifs inspired by the indigenous people of Northern and Central Australia. In 2002, the airline followed up with "Yananyi Dreaming," a design for a Boeing 737-800 by artist Rene Kulitja, meant to evoke the scenery and pathways surrounding Uluru (Ayers Rock). The airline plans to unveil a new indigenous livery on a different aircraft toward the end of 2013.Photo: Courtesy of Quantas
AIRASIA'S 100TH AIRBUS A320(06 of08)
Open Image ModalTo celebrate AirAsia's 100th Airbus A320—and the Year of the Dragon—the airline had a dragon painted onto the side of its aircraft. It took 20 artists and more than 150 gallons of paint to get the design up therePhoto: Courtesy of Adam Lee/AirAsia
AIR NEW ZEALAND'S ALL BLACK PLANE(07 of08)
Open Image ModalAir New Zealand isn't afraid to wear its national pride on its sleeve—or its planes. To support New Zealand's World Champion rugby team, the All Blacks, the airline had its Boeing 777-300ER painted, well, all black. (It was the largest commercially operated aircraft to be painted completely black.) Air New Zealand liked the results so much it decided to paint the tails of all new aircraft entering the fleet the same color. Later this year, the airline will debut a special livery for the other export that makes New Zealanders swell up with pride: The Hobbit. A Hobbit 777-300 will debut sometime around the premiere of the film.Photo: Courtesy of Air New Zealand
ALASKA AIRLINES' SPIRIT OF ALASKA STATEHOOD(08 of08)
Open Image ModalSpeaking of Alaska Airlines, its Disney planes are not the only special livery in its fleet. In 2009, it put out a call to the students of Alaska to come up with a design for a Boeing 737-400. The winning design was created by Hannah Hamberg, a 16-year-old from Sitka, who was selected from thousands of submissions. We think it's the smile on the whale that put it over the top.Photo: Courtesy of Alaska Airlines