KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd"s (MAB) spirit of patriotism has seen 38 of its aircraft sporting the vibrant Malaysia Flag liveries flying the skies.
MAB engineering and maintenance technical director Eke Nazri Rahim said the liveries that adorn its fleet of Airbus A330-300, Boeing B737-800, Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A350-900 reflected MAB's commitment to serving the nation as the flag bearer of the country.
The initiative to refresh the liveries coincides with airworthy maintenance and came during the Covid-19 pandemic when close to 80 per cent of aircraft were grounded due to the worldwide travel ban.
At the end of the programme to refresh the liveries, 58 of 76 aircraft would be decked in the liveries, Eke Nazri said.
The entire process from the creative and intricacies of the custom livery design to the laborious surfacing preparation, removal of old paint, applying primer, paint, stencilling, decal, marking, glossing and demasking are all done in-house, he said.
"The livery is important for us as it is the first thing that catches the eyes of passengers when they are at the airport or the boarding gate. It is not merely paint on an aircraft but it carries the brand image, logo and uniqueness of an airline.
"MAB is committed to being the nation's flag bearer and it is our pride in a bid to boost the spirit of nationalism. We are proud to carry the Malaysia Flag livery as well as the airline logo throughout the world," he told the New Straits Times.
It takes between 10 and 24 days to complete the liveries which involves over a dozen painters using 710 litres of base coat clear coat (BCCC) paint, which is a chrome free with fast-drying light weight finishing technology.
The paint that could last 10 years, he said, makes an aircraft 15 per cent lighter.
Washing an aircraft would also be less of a hassle as it would only require water and normal soap instead of chemical due to the glossy finish that does not attract dust.
"For aircraft with traditional paint, it needs to be washed after 45 days but with this, it can be up to 90 days before we do so. As chemical is not needed, we are protecting the environment and the aircraft is lighter so we burn less fuel thus our carbon emission is a lot lower," he said.
Meanwhile, MAB leading hand for paint shop and composite personnel Shaderon Sarmungah, 49, said the first Malaysia Flag livery he and his colleagues worked on was on a Boeing B737-800, which proved to be a challenge.
"There are measurements to follow and because of the curves of the fuselage, we had to adjust the livery by hand to ensure its correct placement, especially the star and the moon. We will have someone look at the livery from afar to ensure it is in perfect position. It took us 12 days to complete the first livery.
"We learnt from the first and knew what to expect for the subsequent aircraft. It then took us less days for each after that," he said.
Shaderon, who has been with MAB since 1993, said he was happy to see his work on aircraft which he admires from the hangar near the airport in Sepang.
"It is an electrifying sense of excitement whenever I see the aircraft fly in and out because it is decked with a big Malaysia Flag soaring high proudly into the skies and known across the world," he said.