Virgin Atlantic's fleet is getting a new look. The carrier on Thursday unveiled "a new aircraft livery and brand identity for the airline." Virgin Atlantic says the new design will be applied to all of the company's 38 aircraft, and to the company's signage and external communications. It will be the carrier's first change to the look of its aircraft since 2005.

In a press release announcing the change, Virgin Atlantic says "the new livery uses an entirely new paint system which is unique to Virgin Atlantic-aaa first on commercial aircraft. It has been specially developed to achieve a highly reflective depth of metallic color. The painting process has been simplified, using fewer maskings and applications for a drastic reduction in materials used. Over 450 liters [about 120 gallons] of paint was used and took over 3,000-aa3,500 man hours to paint. The new paint is more durable so aircraft will only require re-painting once a decade."

"Despite the most challenging economic conditions that we have encountered for some time, this is just one of many design projects that Virgin Atlantic has invested in," CEO Steve Ridgway says in a press release.

"We have been working behind the scenes with British designers to re-ignite our brand and are developing new designs for the entire fleet of A330s due to come into service next year," he adds. "Virgin Atlantic has a strong history of investing during downturns and we believe that our new livery and the forthcoming delivery of the Airbus A330-300 signals another period of growth for the airline."