ANA used to fly several Pokémon special liveries several years back, though back then those airplanes only operate Japan domestic routes so outside of Japan, not many passengers had the chance to fly onboard them. So it was nice to hear from ANA back in March that they will re-launch a Pikachu Jet in collaboration with Pokémon Company. This is the latest of several Pokémon themed airline liveries under the “Pokémon Air Adventures” theme. Here are some official renderings of how the plane will look like.
ANA will specially paint one of their 787-9 aircraft (registration JA894A) and mentions the plane will fly for around 5 years with the livery, with first flight on June 4, 2023 onwards. Between June 4 to October 28 in 2023, the plane is expected to operate on these routes:
- Haneda – Bangkok (NH847/NH850/NH849/NH848)
- Haneda – Singapore (NH841/NH844/NH843/NH842)
- Haneda – Jakarta (NH855/NH856)
- Haneda – Manila (NH869/NH870)
- Haneda – Ho Chi Minh City (NH891/NH892)
- Haneda – Delhi (NH837/NH838)
- Haneda – Sydney (NH879/NH880/NH889/NH890)
- Haneda – Vancouver (NH116/NH115)
- Haneda – Honolulu (NH186/NH185)
Gracing the airplane will be the main character Pikachu along with several flying Pokémon like Charizard, Latias, Latios, and Vivillon. Apparently there will be some Pokémon painted inside the engines of the jet so passengers that are lucky enough to board this special livery ANA jet should keep an eye for them during boarding and disembarkation.
Unlike many airlines which typically offer special napkins, headrests and drinking cups on these special livery planes, ANA specifically mentions that passengers will be given a memento bag comprising of a boarding certificate, one commemorative sticker (out of 5 versions), and a Japanese wooden tag “kifuda”.
Aside from the freebies, ANA will launch several items for sale on their duty free shop, starting in June 4, 2023 with this bath poncho made for kids as a body towel after a pool swim or after a bath. ANA will launch new collaboration items for sale in their duty free every month so keep an eye out for it if you are keen.
Finally, ANA will also screen Pokémon-related content such as Pokémon Kids TV and POKÉTOON on ANA international flights from June 2023 and onboard domestic flights from July 2023.
Final Word
I am a huge fan of ANA’s branding and marketing and they have one of the most cohesive co-branded products for sale amongst many other airlines. With Japan and Asia being a huge market for cute stuff, I do expect this latest Pikachu Jet to be well received especially by families on vacation to Japan. However, the problem with one jet serving that many routes is that it is nearly impossible to tell with certainty beforehand which day of travel will allow passengers to catch a ride on this jet for a particular destination. So it all boils down to the luck of the draw.
A good way to try to increase your chances is probably to look at the schedules of where the aircraft JA894A is flying to in the last week or so using flight tracking websites like Flight Radar. Then maybe one can game that luck in buying a ticket for the flight.
QUIRROW 