Fly high with the Force in All Nippon Airways' (ANA) three new Star Wars-themed airplanes. Two of the birds will be decked out in paint to resemble the beloved droid R2-D2 and the spherical droid BB-8 introduced in the teaser for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In addition to being decked out in Star Wars decals on the exterior, the insides of the aircraft will also feature Star War-themed headrests, paper napkins, cups and other amenities, and will screen all six Star Wars movies as part of the in-flight entertainment system.
The project is a joint venture between ANA, Star Alliance and Lucasfilm Ltd. The themed planes will be taking off on international and domestic routes around Japan.
The first jet was announced in April. Japan's largest airline revealed it would be a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner bearing R2-D2 on its side. It is scheduled to begin flying international routes in the fall of this year.
On Oct. 8, the R2-D2 ANA Jet will begin flights between Haneda and Vancouver and will add a Narita-to-San Jose route from mid-October to late November. From around the middle of December and beyond, the routes between Japan will expand to include other principal cities around the world, such as Sydney, Jakarta, Beijing, Munich and Paris.
Also taking to the skies in the winter are Boeing 767-300s, which will bear the likeness of R2-D2 and also BB-8. These are set to fly domestic routes.
The third aircraft will be a Boeing 777-300ER, which will don BB-8's image. It will begin flying in spring 2016 with international flights between Japan and North America in March.
To keep the debut flight of the R2-D2 ANA jet all the more festive, passengers on the maiden voyage will be encouraged to wear Star Wars costumes.
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