ANA’s plan to hire out its Boeing 777-300ER for weddings has been a success. A total of seven weddings reportedly took place, but now the fun is over. Unfortunately, there’s no tropical honeymoon for this bird, as it has now arrived in the Mojave Desert to rest its wings for good.
ANA’s onboard wedding
Last month, ANA revealed an unusual plan to hire out one of its retired Boeing 777-300ERs for weddings. The happy couple would be allowed to marry onboard the parked plane, with an audience of up to 30 guests. The service would be conducted in the cabin for the fee of ¥1.56 million ($14,200), with a terminal reception including food for ¥3 million ($27,236).
The first wedding on the 777 was held on May 23rd for Tokyo couple Toru and Mami Murakami. Under the current state of emergency in Japan, large gatherings are discouraged and alcohol is banned. The couple had been planning to marry quietly and have a simple photoshoot to commemorate it until they heard about ANA’s offer. Speaking to the Japan Times, Toru said,
"We immediately decided (to take up the offer) for our love of aircraft and enjoyed a dreamy time. At one time, I thought that we would not be able to hold a wedding ceremony amid the pandemic, but I am satisfied with my wedding.”
The couple were greeted at the gate by a confetti shower of paper planes, and boarded flight number 8888. The destination? The birthplace of ‘June Bride.’ Flight attendants joined in onboard, giving inflight announcement-style blessing messages, with an ANA captain playing witness to the marriage.
ANA’s 777 has reportedly been booked out for seven different weddings between May 23rd and June 14th. But the dream has to end somewhere, and for this 777-300ER, it’s not a glamorous honeymoon.
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Off to the desert
While the Maldives or Hawaii might be a likely pick for the post-wedding celebrations, for this Boeing 777, it will have to be content with the dust of the Mojave Desert. JA783A, a 12-year-old 777-300ER, took off from Tokyo to Honolulu today at 08:45 local time. Owing to crossing the international dateline, it arrived at 21:00 local time yesterday.
From there, it departed again at 23:35 after refueling and landed at 07:31 this morning in Mojave (MHV), likely its last flight for some time. Of course, as a relatively young 777-300ER, it could find a second life as a cargo carrier in the future. But, for the time being, it will be enjoying an extended honeymoon in the California sun. At least it’s warm.
ANA is retiring 35 aircraft due to the impact of the COVID crisis, 11 of which are the 777-300ER. Nine have so far left the fleet, with just two – JA779A and JA780A – still in Japan. However, according to Aviation Wire, ANA has a plan for at least one of these two remaining jets.
JA779A, a 14-year-old 777-300ER, is set to be turned into a restaurant at Haneda Airport. Under the project "Tsubasa no Restaurant HANEDA," ANA will offer onboard dining for two days this weekend. The same project ran back in April, opening another 777-300ER for a restaurant experience for 11 dates. However, this 777 will only open on the 19th and 20th June, after which time it will likely join its sister in the Mojave Desert.