After receiving thousands of creative entries and scrolling through dozens of incredible designs, All Nippon Airways has selected the design for its special edition Hawaii aircraft…
… and it’s a sea turtle!
In case you missed it, the only 5-star Japanese airline announced late last year that it is planning to launch its first direct service from Tokyo to Honolulu in 2019.
In true All Nippon Airways (ANA) style, the airline decided to mark the occasion by giving travellers the chance to contribute to the new service by submitted designs to redecorate one aircraft in a very Hawaiian-way.
Now, months after flipping through 2,197 entries, the carrier has settled on the sea turtle concept, which will be painted on the carrier’s Airbus A380 and renamed ‘Flying Honu’.
The limited edition livery will be seen flying between Tokyo-Honolulu when the service launches and the designer, Chihiro Masuoka of Tokyo, will receive a pair of roundtrip Business Class tickets as a thank you.
According to ANA, the sea turtle or as it’s referred to in the Hawaiian language, the ‘Honu’, is a sacred creature in Hawaii and is listed by The International Union for Conservation of Nature as a wild animal in danger of extinction.
The ANA Group has promised to support activities in Hawaii to protect the Hawaiian green sea turtle.
Meanwhile, ANA has developed quite a reputation for having some of the most creative livery in the sky with its Star Wars-themed planes.