Snow Leopard:The eye-catching Embraer aircraft is raising awareness for Kazakhstan's endangered wildcat. Photo / Marina Lystseva, Getty Images
Snow Leopard:The eye-catching Embraer aircraft is raising awareness for Kazakhstan's endangered wildcat. Photo / Marina Lystseva, Getty Images
The livery on the latest airliner delivered by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has been described as "pawsome".
This Embraer 190-E2 was unveiled is the latest addition to the Air Astana fleet, the national carrier for the Republic of Kazakhstan.
It's an incredible aircraft – hotly anticipated as a competitor to thelikes of Boeing and Airbus mid range planes – however it's the paint job which is turning heads.
By a whisker: An air steward welcomes the new addition to the Air Astana fleet. Photo / Marina Lystseva, Getty Images
Delivered to the Astana International Airport on Friday the snow leopard is the first of five new E190-E2s ordered by the Kazakhstani airline.
The snow leopard joins other creative pieces of animal-inspired paint work on the new Embraer models – including a shark and a tiger which took to the skies.
The eye-catching livery is part of an awareness-raising mission for the plight of the big cat which is native to the mountains of southern Kazakhstan.
Nose cone: The snow leopard livery is unvieled at Astana Inernational. Photo / Marina Lystseva, Getty Images
"All of us at Air Astana are pleased to receive our first E190-E2, and we look forward to a smooth entry into service and a simple transition for our pilots. We know Embraer's E-Jets well, and have high expectations for their new generation aircraft in terms of economics, environmental impact, and levels of comfort and convenience for our customers," said Air Astana CEO Peter Foster, on receiving the new aircraft.
High expectations: Astana CEO Peter Foster (left). Photo / Getty Images, TASS
The new fleet of Embraer 190s will be serving on domestic routes as well as international lines into Russia and China.
Its inaugural commercial flight will be between Astana and Almaty on Wednesday. The new aircraft is not only concerned with conserving wildlife but the planet as well; Embraer announced that its new 190-E2 burns 17 per cent less fuel than the previous model.
Sharks: The Embraer E190-E2 was unvailed at the China 2018 Airshow with this toothy livery. Photo / Getty Images
Small but efficient, it is possibly the greenest and best looking single-aisle aircraft in the market.
Flying a 2-2 configuration, passengers will be relieved to hear there are no middle seats on this plane.
As a rival to Airbus's A220 the Brazilian airplane is already flown by Swiss, Korean and Delta airlines.
