Christmas Cheer: Emirates Turns Airbus A380 Into 'Santa's Sleigh' — Watch Video
Even though the video is AI-generated, users are impressed by Emirates’ creative mix of Christmas fun and aviation grandeur.
Emirates has taken holiday cheer to new heights with a creative spin. The airline shared a video that reimagined its flagship superjumbo, the Airbus A380, as a festive aircraft called the 'Sleigh380'.
The double-decker aircraft, decorated in bright and colourful Christmas-themed style, included imagery of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus' famous helper. This fictional reindeer, created in 1939 by Robert L May for a rhyming children’s booklet, inspired the glowing red nose on the aircraft, secured with harness straps. A beautiful wreath sitting on top of the plane, complete with reindeer horns, also enhanced the Christmas theme of the aircraft.
In the clip, which has gone viral, the ground staff of the airline can be seen loading a large collection of presents onto a massive sleigh attached to the aircraft. As soon as the gifts were loaded, the Sleigh380 accelerated down the runway and took off.
The post was captioned, "Introducing the Sleigh380. Santa's going long-haul this year! Merry Christmas from Emirates."
Watch the clip here:
Even though the video is AI-generated, users are impressed by Emirates’ creative mix of Christmas fun and aviation grandeur. The clip has already garnered over 2.2 million views on X.
One user responded with humour, writing, “Aviation expert here. This doesn’t seem safe,” joking about the imaginative sleigh take-off.
“Santa’s getting a premium class upgrade, all thanks to AI,” read a comment.
Many users connected the video to their own travel experiences. “I wanted to laugh, but then I remembered I’m flying Emirates soon,” read one comment.
A playful concern also surfaced. “I have some Elf and safety concerns,” wrote one user.
Many comments were full of admiration for the airline’s creativity. One user praised the airline, saying, “The ‘Sleigh380’ is such a creative and magical way to celebrate the season. Emirates always knows how to take the holiday spirit to new heights.”
A particularly detailed comment captured the spirit of Emirates’ festive efforts. The user wrote, “Emirates turned their flagship A380 into the Sleigh380 with handcrafted CGI” and highlighted how the airline "has built this festive tradition yearly,” spreading “real holiday magic onboard".
According to a report by NDTV, the creative genius behind this festive digital artwork is Mostafa Eldiast, a Dubai-based reel creator and creative director. Emirates said that "all visuals have been lovingly handcrafted” by the talented artist, their “long-time collaborator".
