ANA retired the R2-D2 paint scheme on its Boeing 787-9, registration JA873A, in August 2025. Flightradar24 reported the aircraft’s final flights in the livery between Tokyo and Washington on August 6; ANA gives August 7 as the retirement date. The 787 itself was not retired: subsequent specialist reporting said it returned to service in standard ANA colors.
What happened to ANA’s R2-D2 plane?
The aircraft was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner wearing an exterior design based on the Star Wars droid R2-D2. ANA’s retrospective dates the livery’s retirement to August 7, 2025. Flightradar24’s report, updated August 5, 2025, identifies August 6 as the date of the final reported flights in the themed paint scheme, between Tokyo and Washington. Those dates describe different milestones: the final reported livery flights and ANA’s stated retirement date.
Retirement referred to the livery, not the aircraft. Flightradar24’s later reporting says JA873A returned to service in standard ANA livery.
How the R2-D2 livery began
ANA announced the design on April 16, 2015, as the first aircraft in its Star Wars project with The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. The airline said the design marked the first time a Star Wars character would appear on the exterior of a commercial aircraft. The aircraft rolled out from Boeing’s Everett factory in September 2015, and ANA planned for it to enter international service that autumn.
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ANA’s Star Wars aircraft timeline
| Aircraft or milestone | Date | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| R2-D2 ANA Jet (Boeing 787-9, JA873A) | April 16, 2015 | ANA announced the livery and its Star Wars project with Disney in Japan. |
| R2-D2 ANA Jet | September 2015 | The aircraft rolled out from Boeing’s Everett factory; ANA had planned international service for that autumn. |
| R2-D2 ANA Jet | August 6, 2025 | Flightradar24 reported its final livery flights between Tokyo and Washington. |
| R2-D2 ANA Jet | August 7, 2025 | ANA’s retrospective gives this as the livery’s retirement date. |
| BB-8 ANA Jet | March 31, 2022 | ANA’s retrospective gives this as the livery’s retirement date. |
| C-3PO ANA Jet | January 9, 2026 | ANA’s retrospective gives this as the livery’s retirement date. |
The dates for the BB-8 and C-3PO aircraft come from ANA’s retrospective; the cited material does not establish their aircraft types or registrations.
What the retirement means for travelers
JA873A’s return to standard ANA colors means the R2-D2 experience was tied to a particular livery and period, not a permanently dedicated aircraft. The available reporting does not establish a current route for JA873A, and the retired paint scheme is not a current way to identify a flight to book.
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