AkzoNobel Sets a New Record for Color Use on COMAC’s C919
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At AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings, we’re proud to help our customers bring their creative visions to life, transforming aircraft into moving expressions of culture, innovation, and color.
Recently, we reached a remarkable new milestone with the new C919, which has just completed its maiden flight in a dazzling “Beautiful Greater Bay Area” livery. This stunning aircraft, featuring 44 brilliant AkzoNobel colors, now holds the record for the most colors ever used on a C919 and marks China Southern Airlines’ first C919 received directly from COMAC with a full-body custom design.
44 Colors of Aerodur 3001 - COMAC C919
The “Beautiful Greater Bay Area” serves as the official themed livery for the 15th National Games and the National Para Games, beautifully showcasing the cultural charm of the Guangdong-Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.
Drawing on AkzoNobel’s advanced color development and aerospace coating technologies, our team brought to life symbolic elements like the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, Lingnan motifs, and China Southern’s kapok flower emblem, all expressed through a palette of 44 vivid colors crafted by our expert team in Dongguan. It’s a true “work of art in the sky,” and a celebration of both national pride and technological innovation.
"Beautiful Greater Bay Area" - C919 Ready for take off
The livery was completed using AkzoNobel’s Aerodur™ 3001 BCCC exterior coating system, delivering vibrant color, durability, and a more sustainable coating solution. All color formulations for this project were blended and prepared ahead of schedule at our Dongguan Aerospace Coatings facility in China, which had previously received COMAC certification to produce base coats and color formulations for the C919 program.
Our Dongguan site, certified by COMAC, Airbus, and Boeing, continues to demonstrate AkzoNobel’s commitment to quality and partnership with leading aircraft manufacturers.
This milestone builds on the success of our earlier partnership with China Southern Airlines on the “Vibrant Greater Bay Area” Airbus A350, another tribute to the region’s creativity and spirit. For that project, our team developed more than 50 bespoke colors at the Dongguan site in just two weeks again proving our ability to deliver precision, performance, and artistry on a global scale.
From the A350 “Vibrant Greater Bay Area” to the C919 “Beautiful Greater Bay Area,” both aircraft now fly as colorful ambassadors of innovation and regional pride, powered by AkzoNobel’s coatings expertise.
“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.” Marius Vasiliu, Asia Director of Aerospace Coatings, AkzoNobel
At AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings, we’re proud to support the region’s aviation ambitions by empowering our customers through local production, more sustainable technology, and world-class color innovation, as we celebrate another milestone for AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings in China, setting a new record for the most colors ever used on a C919.