Scotland Corporate, Editorial and Freelance Photographer | Worlds Biggest Passenger Jet A380 Emirates Airbus in Glasgow

A commission from Saltburn commercial photographer Cal Carey saw me heading back to my Scottish roots recently, to photograph the world's biggest passenger jet as it landed in Scotland for the first time to celebrate a 10-year link between Glasgow Airport and Emirates airlines.

An early 5.30am start from Teesside saw us arrive at the airport at 10.30am, in plenty of time to set up. The local and national Scottish press photographers were out in force, and it was good to see a couple of familiar faces from my press photography days, Colin Mearns from the Glasgow Herald was amongst the pack who I remembered from a couple of years back. 

Press photographers and reporters from Edinburgh Scotsman, Glasgow Herald, Glasgow Evening Times, Daily Record, as well as the BBC, Sky News and ITV were just a handful of media gathered to greet the £248 million brand new A380 airbus, which with its shower spas, passenger lounge and bar, is able to take massive 517 travellers.   

This was a very important moment in the airport’s history and understandably, the client wanted to make the most of photo opportunities of the visit, and when they asked Cal if he could recommend a photographer who would work with him as a team, he kindly suggested me.

A good press and commercial photographer can work fast and be in several places at once, but the high profile event matched with airport security made it difficult to quickly move around all areas of the venue as we usually would, hence the need for a team.

While Cal started off airside to cover the plane’s impressive arrival and cover the passengers and VIPs alighting, I was in the airport photographing the guests gathered to watch speeches by Emirates' executive Hubert Frach and airport boss Amanda McMillan. As part of the celebrations the pair exchanged ‘high quality’ model aircrafts and also cut what looked like a very tasty cake.

At any event like this it’s important to cover the assembled guests as well as the VIPs, to give a real feel for the event. Although the hall was packed I was able to move around discreetly with my camera and get some natural corporate photography shots of the Glasgow guests without interfering with the proceedings. Although it was mainly a business audience dressed in dark clothing, the uniforms of the cabin crew added a splash of red that matched the stunning standard rose displays in the entrance.

After the ceremony I was delighted to be able to join Cal airside to take some shots of the aircraft’s interior and go into the cockpit and meet the pilots, particularly Iain Weir, who grew up in nearby Clydebank.

Hubert Frach showing people round the plane and chatting with cabin crew, many of whom had been hand picked as coming from Glasgow and surrounding areas. The tour presented me with some good interiors photography opportunities to show off the attention to detail that has been put into this very impressive aircraft and the distinctive Commonwealth Games logo on its fuselage, marking Emirates’ sponsorship of the games. 

Media interviews ran slightly over schedule making the plane slightly late taking off for its return trip to Dubai, but I think everyone there would agree it was well worth it, and a great day for Glasgow, as the first Scottish city to welcome this super jumbo aircraft.

Cal was staying over in Glasgow so while I was on the train back to Teesside I took the chance to edit the photos so that as soon as I landed back at my Stockton photography studio I could download over 100 shots to Dropbox for the client to view that evening. 

A good day’s work and one that I hope Cal and I can repeat in the future.