LONDON – All Nippon Airways has announced today that it’s Boeing 777 in the Star Wars BB-8 livery will operate its last flight under the livery tomorrow.
The carrier took to social media to pay tribute to the livery saying:
“The Force will be with you, always…”.
Just The Livery Going, Not The Aircraft…
It appears that it is just the livery that is disappearing, not the aircraft.
JA789A, which sports the livery, is only 11.8 years old having been delivered new to the carrier in June 2010.
The aircraft was painted in the Star Wars BB-8 special colors in March 2016, meaning the livery has been on the aircraft for six years to market the Star Wars franchise.
JA789A still has plenty of more years worth of life in the jet, and ANA will look to continue using that aircraft moving forward.
The Livery Will Be Missed…
Someone commented on the post on Facebook, discussing their experiences with the liveries that ANA have on offer to celebrate the franchise:
“My family had the great pleasure of flying on this majestic aircraft while living in Japan.”
“Also, flew on the C-3PO and R2-D2 jets.”
“I remember my family being excited upon seeing a Star Wars-themed aircraft for the first time. Good memories! Sad to hear this will be retired. Thank you for the wonderful service and memories, BB8 and ANA!”
It is pretty clear that this livery will be missed by many, as will the others when they get removed eventually as well.
What are the other liveried aircraft?
The other aircraft that have Star Wars branding on them are:
- JA743A – Boeing 777-281ER – Star Wars – C-3PO livery.
- JA873A – Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Start Wars – R2-D2 livery.
It is unclear when ANA will take these two liveries off the aircraft, but if the last flight of BB-8 is tomorrow, then the other two can’t be far off as the marketing project nears full completion.
Such liveries have been a joy to see, and ANA has done an incredible job with the paint scheme. It is a shame to see them go and we hope that we can see others like this again in the future.
