Los Angeles, March 19 (IANS): Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Universal Pictures have unveiled a luxury Fast & Furious 777 airliner at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), in conjunction with the impending release of "Furious 7".

Actor-producer Vin Diesel was on hand as Etihad Airways Flight 171 arrived from Abu Dhabi to begin the global junket and world premiere of “Furious 7” on Wednesday here. The film arrives in theaters on April 2.

The Fast & Furious 777 will fly the direct route between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles. The airline is also a sponsor of the “Furious 7” world premiere, which will take place here on April 1.

“We are pleased to work together with Universal, an organisation that shares that same spirit of innovation and reimagination when it comes to the world of entertainment, to unveil our newly-decaled Boeing 777 aircraft in support of the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise and ‘Furious 7’, which premieres next month and highlights our airline’s home of Abu Dhabi,” Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial officer of Etihad Airways, said in a statement.

“When we began filming ‘The Fast and the Furious’ in 2000, if you told me that we would one day have our logo on a wide-body jet, I would have said you were crazy,” said producer Neal H. Moritz.

“We are so honoured that Etihad has partnered with us to support this very personal film, and we thank the people of the United Arab Emirates for all the kindness and graciousness they showed throughout production,” he added.

The “Fast & Furious” decal will remain on the plane for the next four to six months.