Thai Airways has decorated a B777-300 aircraft in a special livery to commemorate the coronation of Thailand’s new king.
The design depicts the ornate barge used by Thai royals for hundreds of years.
It was added using a decal sticker rather than the usual paint spray in order to show more details.
The current Suphannahong Royal Barge was constructed on the order of King Rama V in the nineteenth century, and finished under his predecessor King Rama VI.
The bow of the real barge has a golden swan figurehead, while the wooden hull is decorated with gold leaf, mirrors, tassels, and engraved glass.
It measures 46.15 metres long by 3.17 metres wide, and weighs 15 tonnes.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned on May 4, 2019, and country-wide celebrations will take place for a year.
Thai says it decorated a B747-400 with the royal barge in 1999, to honour King Rama IX.
The B777-300, named “Lahan Sai”, will feature the livery until December 2022.
The aircraft has 34 seats in Royal Silk (business class) and 330 seats in economy.
It will operate various flights from Bangkok, with destinations including Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Sapporo.
