All Nippon Airways (ANA) says goodbye to Star Wars aircraft

A decade ago, All Nippon Airways teamed up with the Star Wars franchise to launch its Star Wars Project. Over the years, it introduced four aircraft with unique Star Wars-themed liveries, but the most iconic was their Boeing 787-9 featuring a striking R2-D2 design. After ten years of thrilling Star Wars fans and aviation lovers, sadly this special livery is making its final flight today as NH101 travelling from Washington to Tokyo.

My daughter and I flew down to Sydney in December 2015 just to see this amazing aircraft arrive in Sydney for the first time.

ALL NIPPON BOEING 787-9 JA873A (MSN 34530)

R2-D2 marks the second last livery retirement in ANA's Star Wars Project, with the final design, C-3PO, set to retire early next year. These special liveries were such a huge commercial hit that they inspired many other airlines to explore Star Wars collaborations, leading to a new wave of unique liveries across various aircraft types.

My wife and I were in Japan in October last year and went plane spotting at Haneda and the first plane I saw when we walked out to the viewing deck was C-3PO. It last flight is set for the 31st of March 2026.

ALL NIPPON BOEING 777-281 JA743A (MSN 40902)