ANA's fleet of Star Wars-themed aircraft is growing, with two more Boeing aircraft being painted to celebrate the impending (December 2015) release of the latest movie in the Star Wars saga.
A Boeing 777-300ER will be decorated with the BB8 android from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and take wing in March 2016, mainly flying to New York, Chicago and Houston.
In November 2015 one of ANA's domestic Boeing 767-300s will be christened as The Star Wars ANA Jet and feature BB8 on one flank...
... and original 'droid R2-D2 down the other side.
These join the ANA Boeing 787 dressed in special RD-D2 stripe.
That 'droided-up Dreamliner is also set to begin international flights to Vancouver (on October 18), San Jose (from mid-October to late November – the geeks of Silicon Valley will love that!), Seattle (in early December) and then a flock of 'surprised and delight' appearances on flights to Sydney, Jakarta, Beijing, Munich, Paris and Brussels.
It's all part of a five-year marketing deal between ANA and The Walt Disney Company, and the scheme goes beyond just paintwork.
Photo gallery: downloadable PR images of ANA's three Boeing 'Star Wars' jets
The ANA Star Wars planes will also include headrest covers, paper napkins and cups featuring Star Wars characters, while all six Star Wars movies will be added to ANA's inflight video collection from November.
Also see: complete photo gallery of ANA's three Boeing 'Star Wars' jets
And don't forget that the Millennium Falcon is also part of ANA's fleet!
Yes, tucked away in the latest issue of the Japanese airline's inflight magazine sits the famous if well-worn space-freighter, just below a more conventional Boeing 737 and Bombardier.
So how many frequent flyer miles do you earn on the Kessell Run..?
And yes, the top speed is listed at 1,050km/h – which seems a bit on the slow side for the ship which made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
But that's the 'in atmosphere' speed, before the Falcon's hyperdrive engines kick in, according to the Star Wars Wikia website.
And with room for only six passengers, we expect the ticket prices would be out of this world (no pun intended).
This video from ANA showcases all three of its Star Wars jets.
With several new Star Wars films underway, from continuations to the original series to stand-alone movies and even a rumoured TV series (think Game of Thrones with less flesh and more Force), we're sure to see a lot more ANA jets dressed in different Star Wars livery.
For more of this avgeek and sci-fi geek mashup, visit ANA's dedicated microsite
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
The B77W is powered exclusively by GE90 engines. That means the rendering of the BB-8 themed B77W not quite correct, as it clearly shows RR engines.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 Jun 2014
Total posts 209
Something about me likes the fact that it's all in order: 767, 777 and 787
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