In today’s competitive market, airlines often pour time and resources into high profile
advertising campaigns to get the attention of potential customers. This can result in
carriers pulling off daring stunts! Let’s take a look at some of these impressive performances!
In early August, Emirates placed a stuntwoman at the top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa with a
message celebrating the UAE moving off the UK’s red list to its amber list.
Despite suspicions that Emirates had used a green screen, the carrier demonstrated that
the stunt was genuine with the release of a behind-the-scenes video. It showed that the
stunt required more than an hour of climbing to reach the top, making for an unforgettable ad...
Going back a few years, November 5th, 2015 saw an unprecedented formation flight take place in
the skies over the UAE. As Emirates reports, one aspect of this display
involved an Airbus A380 flying in two holding patterns, 4,000 feet above Dubai. While this,
in itself, makes for a pleasant sight, the airline enlisted two local daredevils to add
a layer of brave extravagance to the display. Extensive planning went into ensuring that
the stunt could be performed safely, and the result was stunning. Adel Al Redha,
the Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Emirates, said at the time:
“This display between man and machine celebrates the magic and beauty of flight,
a feat which just over a hundred years ago would have seemed an impossible dream. It also showcases
how far human vision and ambition has [pushed], and can continue to push, aviation’s boundaries.”
Staying with Emirates for one final noteworthy event, the airline used another of its A380s to
open the Dubai Airshow in 2019. It did so with an impressive low flypast at an altitude of
just 1,000 feet. The Fursan display team closely trailed the mighty superjumbo.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Middle East, flyovers have become customary at Formula One motor races
in the region. We’ve seen this frequently with racing events in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain,
although Emirates has also done an A380 flyover in Barcelona for the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix.
Elsewhere in the world, South Africa has also built up a reputation for spectacular stadium
flyovers at sporting venues. Arguably the most notable of these happened just
before the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.
As seen around two minutes into the video above, a South African Airways Boeing 747
swooped over the packed grandstands with its underside bearing the words “good luck Bokke.”
This was a spectacular way to get the country fired up for the match against New Zealand.
More recently, South African Airways also sent two of its Airbus A340s to fly in close formation
over Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld Stadium, where the 2019 presidential inauguration took place.
Flanked by a display team, it made for an unbelievable sight.
It’s not always an advertising campaign or a big sporting event that brings out impressive
flights. Indeed, British Airways celebrated 100 years of operations in patriotic fashion with
a flypast with the famous Red Arrows display team at the 2019 Royal Internation Air Tattoo.
Finally, visually impressive formation flights are also something that manufacturers can
get involved with as well. Indeed, Airbus has held a number of special
formation flights over its 51 year history. Which of these amazing stunts is YOUR favorite?
Can you think of any others? Let us know by leaving a comment below...