Etihad Airways has transported statues of two Manchester City club legends some 5,778 miles ahead of their unveiling at Etihad Stadium on 28 August.
The large-scale statues of Vincent Kompany and David Silva travelled from the US to Manchester.
Sculptor Andy Scott, who was born and raised in Glasgow but now operates from his studio in Philadelphia, was appointed by the club 15 months ago to bring the players to life in sculpture form.
The above video documents the process of transporting the two statues
Etihad Cargo provided a dedicated and end-to-end service throughout the entire process of transportation. Carefully separated into four parts and meticulously packaged, the statues were trucked from the Philadelphia studio to Chicago, loaded onto a 777 Freighter and flown to Frankfurt before being transported by road to Manchester.
“The Etihad Cargo team is extremely proud to have been chosen by Manchester City to transport this unique cargo shipment,” said Etihad Aviation Group’s senior vice president sales and cargo Martin Drew. “As partners to Manchester City for more than twelve years, we have watched at close quarters and in admiration at what Vincent Kompany and David Silva have achieved for the club. Our team was therefore even more excited by this unique opportunity.
“The complexity of this operation involved months of planning and technical expertise in close cooperation with the club. The successful delivery of this highly-confidential consignment demonstrated the teamwork capabilities within the Etihad network.
“We are all excited to see these statues unveiled having delivered them safely to what will become their permanent home.”
Vincent Kompany’s best moments for Manchester City, as selected by the club’s YouTube channel
Manchester City’s director of infrastructure Ed Dalton said of Etihad’s role: “These statues are bespoke and premium pieces of art that have been 15 months in the making. The precious nature of the pieces together with their sheer size and weight, meant that their transportation across the world to Manchester was always going to be a challenging and complex process.
“It was vital that we had an organisation with the appropriate logistical know-how, a global network and a team of people with the requisite experience and expertise to take on a project of this kind.
“Etihad Cargo’s dedicated team have worked with the club closely throughout this process and have been the perfect partner – highly organised, professional and collaborative and we are extremely grateful for their invaluable assistance.”
The YouTube channel also put together a compilation of David Silva’s best moments
