On 25 May, the themed aircraft for the 48th WorldSkills Competition –  China Eastern Airlines’ ‘Skills for Success’ aircraft –  completed its inaugural flight, taking off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and landing at Beijing Capital International Airport. Chen Jie, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Shanghai, and Gao Fei, President of China Eastern Airlines Holdings Co., Ltd., jointly unveiled the WorldSkills-themed aircraft.

Before the unveiling ceremony, Francis Hourant, President of WorldSkills, happily posed for photos with the ‘Skills for Success’ aircraft. He said that preparations for the 48th WorldSkills Competition are proceeding smoothly, with young people from around the world actively training for the event. He noted that this edition of the Competition is very large in scale and hoped that it would encourage more young people to value skills, gain better job opportunities, and thereby bring more possibilities for peace and development in the world.

The overall exterior design of the ‘Skills for Success’ aircraft is simple and grand, incorporating 3D geometric patterns composed of the WorldSkills key visual colours — blue, green, yellow, and orange. The fuselage features the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 mascots Neng Neng and Qiao Qiao, who are seen with open arms warmly welcoming visitors. WorldSkills elements are everywhere inside the cabin, from the exclusive commemorative boarding pass to the headrest covers, luggage bins, and tray table decals.

The flight attendants on this flight, Chen Yifan and Wu Jiani, won Medallions for Excellence in Restaurant Service at the 44th and 45th WorldSkills Competitions respectively. Wu Jiani said that participating in the WorldSkills Competition and winning the award was a valuable experience. She wished the competition, to be held in Shanghai this year, great success and hoped that more young people would embrace the belief that ‘Master Skills, Change Your Future’, striving to achieve their life goals.

As a top-tier sponsor of this edition of the WorldSkills Competition, China Eastern Airlines will provide full-spectrum support for the event, including aircraft livery, transportation, protocol services, brand promotion and event organization. In the future, the ‘Skills for Success’ aircraft will operate multiple domestic and international routes, extending a sincere invitation to the world from Shanghai.