Star Wars: The Force Awakens Actors and Filmmakers
Fly Custom R2-D2™ ANA JET
Between U.S. and U.K. Premieres

LOS ANGELES, December 15, 2015 - The force is strong with ANA. This week Japan’s largest airline shuttled the cast and crew of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens from the World Premiere in Hollywood on Monday to the London Premiere in its custom R2-D2™ ANA JET, a Boeing 787-9.

“ANA is proud to be part of the global celebration for Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” said Osamu Shinobe, President and CEO of ANA. “As we fly passengers to Japan and across the world, we aim to provide our guests with the magic and joy that these films spark. As the first aircraft to be decorated with Star Wars livery, there was no question that the R2-D2™ ANA JET was chosen to fly between the U.S. and U.K. premieres of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Following the World Premiere of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Hollywood, the film's stars including Harrison Ford and newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, the director of The Force Awakens J.J. Abrams, and producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, flew on the chartered flight from Los Angeles to London. The flight number of the trip was NH 1977, in honor of the first Star Wars film release in 1977.

The R2-D2™ ANA JET is the first ever aircraft in the world to feature a Star Wars character on its exterior and is a product of an agreement between ANA and The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. First unveiled at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, Calif., earlier this year, the R2-D2™ ANA JET, a Boeing 787-9, started its regular flight in October and now flies to various destinations, including Europe, Asia, China and the U.S.

At the World Premiere, a large aircraft modeled after the BB-8™ ANA JET took to the red carpet. The jet is another aircraft decorated with special livery featuring BB-8, the new Star Wars droid introduced in the film. The jet is a Boeing 777-300ER and is scheduled to begin its service on international routes from March 2016 onwards, principally between the North America and Japan route.

Through the Star Wars™ Project, ANA hopes to further its international presence and connect Star Wars fans around the world. With demand increasing for flights to Japan and Asia, ANA is committed to linking global markets and offering the best possible flight experience through innovative partnerships and branding opportunities.

For more information on ANA’s Star Wars Project, visit: http://www.ana-sw.com/
Follow the ANA Star Wars Project on social media: https://www.facebook.com/flyworld.ANA
For more information on ANA, visit: www.fly-ana.com

Contact: Ryosei Nomura and Maho Ito, ANA Corporate Communication, TEL: +81-3-6735-1111

About ANA
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the largest airline in Japan by revenues and passenger numbers. Founded in 1952, ANA flies today on 73 international routes and 117 domestic routes. The ANA group has 35,000 employees and a fleet of 245 aircraft. In FY2014, it carried 50.4 million passengers and generated revenues of 1.71 trillion Japanese yen. ANA offers trans-Pacific connections between Asia through the gateway of Japan and 10 North American destinations namely; New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver, and Honolulu. ANA has been a member of Star Alliance since 1999 and has joint-ventures with United Airlines on trans-Pacific and Asia routes and with Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines on Japan-Europe routes. Its Frequent Flyer Program, ANA Mileage Club, has more than 26 million members. ANA was voted Airline of the Year for 2013 by Air Transport World Magazine, and in 2015 was awarded five stars for the third consecutive year by the world's leading Airline and Airport review site, SKYTRAX. ANA is the launch customer and biggest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.