ANA takes its ‘Flying Honu’ on a sightseeing spin

ANA takes its ‘Flying Honu’ on a sightseeing spin

Japanese airline ANA has carried out a special sightseeing flight in one of its famed ‘Flying Honu’ aircraft.

The flight, which took off on Saturday from Narita Airport, took place in the airline’s blue A380 double-decker plane that pas homage to the Hawaiian sea turtle.

The plane usually carries up to 540 passengers between Narita and Honolulu, however, according to Aviation Wire Japan, the Flying Honu took only 334 people to comply with social distancing requirements.

The plane didn’t travel to Honolulu either but took a 90-minute sightseeing spin instead.

The flight came about when a customer heard the plane was scheduled to take a maintenance flight and suggested turning it into a sightseeing experience.

According to Aviation Wire, if the A380 doesn’t fly for more than 90 days in a row it’s landing gear requires maintenance.

The passengers were selected via a special “lotto” and also received a “Hawaiian resort experience” at the airport and on board, including drinks like pineapple juice and mojitos and turtle themed souvenirs.

Business Traveller reported the carrier will operate a second sightseeing flight on September 20.

The initial sightseeing flight was the first time the aircraft had flown since 25 March.

ANA isn’t the only airline giving passengers the flying experience during the global pandemic, with China Airlines hosting passengers at Taipei’s Songshan airport for a flight to nowhere.

Passengers received a boarding pass, went through a fake check-in and boarded an A330.


Featured image source: Tadayuki YOSHIKAWA/Aviation Wire

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