The partnership between Real Salt Lake and JetBlue Airways took off Friday.

JetBlue, which has more than 2,000 crew members in Salt Lake City, unveiled a jet with a custom illustration of an RSL soccer player emblazoned on its exterior. The team's blue and red colors also dominate the interior design.

"We've never branded an aircraft before with a sports team," said Lisa Borromeo, JetBlue's manager of national sponsorships. "We hope it resonates through the sports world, the airline industry and, obviously, in Salt Lake."

Real Salt Lake is certain it will.

"This is unprecedented in the history of soccer in the United States," said Trey FitzGerald, spokesman for the Major League Soccer club. "It's common in the NFL to have charter planes branded with a team's identity, but for a commercial airliner to have this type of prominent display, it's history in the making."

Real Salt Lake announced in March that JetBlue had signed on as a "Royal"-level sponsor of the club, a designation indicating an investment worth what RSL President Bill Manning described only as "well north of $150,000 annually."

The airline already had partnerships with the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels, said JetBlue President/CEO Dave Barger. "But this is the first time we've actually dedicated the exterior of a plane to a team. As we look at Major League Soccer and Real Salt Lake, it's a really nice message to send."

Although the partnership with RSL represents an expression of appreciation to JetBlue's work force in Salt Lake, Barger said it also reflects the importance of soccer along many routes serviced by the airline.

"Soccer is very important in the Latin American markets we're flying to more and more," he said. "Many MLS cities also are along our routes. ... We'll try to route this aircraft through Salt Lake and to these cities as often as possible. With the cities we fly to, we look at this as two plus two equals six."

The first flight departed Friday evening for Long Beach, Calif., en route to an 8:30 p.m. game Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy. On board will be players, coaches, team executives, the mascot and members of the exclusive 100 Lions Club.

"This is the first big evidence of the multiyear partnership between these two prominent Salt Lake organizations. They employ 2,000-2,500 folks here. We're one of two major league teams here," FitzGerald said. "This sends a message, nationally and regionally, about the rise of soccer in the United States. ... It will raise a lot of eyebrows."

And when the plane is in Salt Lake, said JetBlue marketer Borromeo, "we hope our crew members and customers will have a sense of pride."

mikeg@sltrib.com