Malév celebrates 65th anniversary with retro-livery aircraft

To mark the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Malév, one of the fleet’s Bombardier Q400 aircraft has been painted in the Malév colours of the 1960s. The authentic paintwork, which suits the modern turboprop plane extremely well, was originally the official livery for the airline’s Il-18 aircraft between 1960 and 1974. The national carrier is also promoting this significant anniversary with a competition aimed at the travelling public.

On the occasion of the foundation of the carrier’s legal predecessor on 29 March 1946, Malév has repainted one of its Q400s in the Hungarian airline livery used during the 1960s. This one-off aircraft arrived at Ferihegy International Airport this morning, where it made a pass over runway No. 1 before taxiing onto the airport’s apron area. Malév Chief Executive Officer Martin Gauss presented the retro-livery aircraft to members of the media corps. In his introductory words the CEO said, “Throughout Europe and in America those distinguished airlines with a great heritage nurture their traditions by ‘outfitting’ one of their aircraft in retro colours. Now we, too, at Malév have decided to go down this path in order to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the formation of our airline. By doing this we are drawing the attention of our customers to the over half a century of professional expertise and quality that are inherent in the Malév brand and services not merely for a single day, but instead continuously, since any of our passengers can come across this retro-livery aircraft in the course of their travels.”

Customers of the Hungarian national carrier will meet the Malév retro-livery turboprop on regional services, including flights to Prague, Bucharest, Stuttgart and Varna.