Update: VNA's First 787 in Final Assembly

Apparently Vietnam Airlines' (VNA's) first Dreamliner has entered the beginning stages of final assembly at the Boeing factory in Everett, WA. 

Final assembly means that most of the smaller components that can be installed have been installed, and all that's left is to join the large body sections such as the flight deck, fuselage, wings, engines, and landing gear. This process can take a month or more to complete.

Read more: Vietnam Airlines Releases Interior Images for 787, A350

VNA is due to receive the 787-9 (B789) in late May, with the first scheduled long-haul flight scheduled for Hanoi (HAN) to London-Heathrow (LHR) on June 29. It will be painted in VNA's updated livery that has already appeared on a number of Boeing 777-200s (B772) after repainting, and on the new Airbus A350-900 (A359) that emerged from the paintshop in Toulouse recently.

(H/T: All Things 787)

Vietnam Airlines Livery and Branding Gets Minor Refreshening

Ahead of its landmark deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 widebody aircraft, VNA's corporate identity receives first updating since 2002.

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No. VN-A146 pictured, in new livery.
Image source: Long Ethan

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) has been quietly working behind the scenes on its rebranding effort, but the first photos of their updated livery have surfaced thanks to some planespotters.

At least 2 of VNA's Boeing 777-200ERs (B772s), reg. nos. VN-A143 and VN-A146, have been sighted with a new paint job, and it looks pretty sharp.

You can see the current livery (I call this "current" because VNA hasn't officially announced the corporate rebranding yet) next to the new livery below:

VNA's current livery (left) and new livery (right).
Image source: Long Ethan

The differences:

• Gone is the battleship gray belly, replaced with a much more sleek white.
• The straight cheat line has been given some curves, and uses VNA's secondary color, gold.
• The tail logo has been enlarged, and actually continues onto the fuselage.
• The logos have been removed from the engine nacelles.

This livery will undoubtedly appear on VNA's new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners (B789) and Airbus A350-900 (A359), both due to be delivered later this year. 

Read more: Vietnam Airlines' Boeing 787: New Lie-Flat Seats in Business, 2 Different Economy Configurations

I like the refreshed look, it keeps to VNA's popular livery while making it more modern and sophisticated, and the current long haul fleet is in desperate need of some TLC. Check out the same aircraft (VN-A146) before it received the new paint job (enlarge it to see how bad it really is):

Image source: Szabo Dani/Airliners.net

What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Comment below!