Reg Ansett's first flight took off in 1936, marking the start of Ansett Airways. The flight was in a Fokker Universal monoplane, a single-engine aircraft with a 6-8 passenger capacity, and it flew from Hamilton to Melbourne, carrying mail and a few passengers.
Planespotters love photographing aircraft in themed livery. Specially painted aeroplanes in stunning designs celebrating events, cultural themes or just well-funded advertisers. I gathered a collection of photographs and postcards depicting a selection of notable themes.
Why do airlines paint their aircraft in special themed liveries and what are some notable examples?
Once upon a time, I worked for a superyacht magazine, and I still retain a lingering fascination for these emblems of opulence and extravagance. Here is a collection of original images taken while travelling the world and imagining I'm somehow in this other world of indulgence.
The P&O Iberia was a British ocean liner built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Completed in 1954, Iberia was one of four ships commissioned by P&O to replace vessels lost during World War II. She was launched on January 21, 1954, by Lady McGrigor, wife of First Sea Lord Rhoderick McGrigor, and began her maiden voyage on September 28, 1954, from London to Sydney via the Suez Canal.
