Emirates unveils festive Sleigh380 for Christmas 2025

The Emirates airline has wowed the world with yet another festive decoration of its iconic Airbus A380 plane. Nicknamed the Sleigh380, the aircraft has a red nose that shines just like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It has equally colossal brown antlers that have been placed on its cockpit.

Not AI: Emirates truly did launch a Christmas-themed aircraft

A viral video on Instagram Reels showcases the aircraft at Dubai International Airport with ground staff, who are dressed as Christmas elves packing a mountain of gifts into a large sleigh connected to the aircraft. When Sleigh380 takes off into the sky, it symbolises the peak of the airline’s Christmas campaign for the year 2025.

CGI artistry over AI

Contrary to speculation by social media commentators that the video was made by AI, Emirates has confirmed that the video was made by “high-end Computer-Generated Imagery.” Emirates partnered with well-known digital artist Mostafa Eldiasty, aka 100 pixels. Every frame of the video was painstakingly painted by hand as opposed to using AI and has been a long-term partnership that has previously released viral successes in Captain Claus in 2024 and Hangar Elves in 2023.

Festive luxuries aboard

The digital display comes at a time when there is a huge wave of travellers, with Emirates anticipating 2.3 million departures and 2.5 million arrivals during this peak time. In a bid to handle these passengers, Emirates has also implemented a vast festive program.

Passengers can also enjoy the themed airport lounges and a seasonal menu that includes:

Main course:

Roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing

Herb-crusted lamb shank

Duck confit with cranberry jus

Sides:

Truffle potato gratin and caramelised brussels sprouts.

Desserts:

A traditional fruit cake, a celebratory mousse and a trademark ‘strawberry and cream’ dish for the first class passengers.

Although there were a few giggles from internet users about ‘Elf and Safety’ issues with respect to antlers, overall the campaign has been a huge success. The merging of cutting-edge digital artwork with traditional notions of holiday hospitality sees Emirates setting the benchmark once again for festive travel.

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