Marking his 25th year as an artist, Christian Pearson, aka Sumo, was commissioned by national airline Luxair to paint on of its Boeing 737-800s and a De Havilland Q400. It took some 200 man hours for the creative process before a team of 11 spent a further 19 hours adhering stickers with Sumo’s designs to the two aircraft.

When the designs were unveiled on Friday evening, Sumo said on his Facebook page that it had been difficult to keep the project a secret. A video with music by Luxembourg artist Napoleon Gold, shows the process involved.

“This collaboration has been an awesome and exciting one,” Sumo said in a statement. “We all worked around the clock to get every detail right. Last time I felt this excited was when I was planning the grand opening of my art gallery. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with such a great team that turned every idea into reality. This has by far been one of my most challenging and enjoyable projects I have ever worked on. I hope I was able to lift the spirits and help spread joy in travelling again.”

The Boeing 737-800 (LX-LGU) is set to take its first passengers to Ajaccio today, Saturday 25 July. The unveiling of the De Havilland Q400’s new look is set to take place next week.