On October 18, ANA unveiled the actual “Chiikawa Jet,” a specially designed aircraft created in collaboration with the manga and anime series “Chiikawa” by illustrator Nagano. A commemorative photo session featuring Chiikawa, Hachiware, Usagi, and ANA employees took place at a hangar at Haneda Airport.
The aircraft was unveiled ahead of the launch of domestic scheduled flights tomorrow, October 19; the aircraft used was a Boeing 767-300 (registration number: JA609A).
The first flight will be ANA Flight 661, departing Haneda at 8:15 a.m. and arriving in Nagasaki at 10:10 a.m. The return flight will be ANA Flight 664, departing Nagasaki at 11:00 a.m. and arriving at Haneda at 12:45 p.m.
The exterior of the aircraft features the eight Chikawa characters, along with motifs found throughout Japan in all four seasons, such as four-leaf clovers, nemophila flowers, maple leaves, and snowflakes.
Left side of the aircraft: Chikawa, Hachiware, Shisa, Kurimanju, and spring-to-summer motifs
Right side of the aircraft: rabbits, sea otters, flying squirrels, a used bookstore, and fall–winter motifs
On board, the seat headrest covers (which cannot be taken home) and the paper cups used for the complimentary beverages served to passengers also feature original designs.
There is one design for each item. The headrest covers feature the same characters as on the exterior: Chikawa, Hachiware, Rabbit, Flying Squirrel, Used Bookstore, Sea Otter, Chestnut Manju, and Shisa—the same eight characters as on the exterior. The paper cups feature three characters: Chikawa, Hachiware, and Rabbit, allowing passengers to enjoy the world of Chikawa even while on board.
The aircraft will not be assigned to fixed routes; from October 19 through October 24, it will be deployed on major routes (New Chitose, Matsuyama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Naha) departing from and arriving at Haneda, Itami, and Centrair. Starting with the winter schedule on October 25, it will be operated on a wider range of domestic routes nationwide. Details are as follows.
© Source travel watch