It is always good to see themed liveries on aircraft and Pokémon-themed liveries are some of the brightest and most colorful. Pokémon-themed liveries first appeared on aircraft in 1998 when All Nippon Airlines (ANA) painted a Boeing 747-400. This was related to the release of the first Pokémon film, and over the years since then, numerous airlines have painted various liveries on a range of aircraft types. Since the original livery, Pokémon-themed liveries have been around continuously since 1998, except for a gap of approximately four years from 2016. We have decided to list our favorite ones here!
5 Scoot Pikachu Jet TR
Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary, Scoot, has transformed one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft with a new, specially-designed Pokémon livery. In addition to regular service across the Scoot network from September 2022, Pickachu Jet TR will be used for special Pokémon-themed flights as part of the Pokemon Air Adventures project. Scoot is also the first non-Japanese airline to feature a Pokémon livery.
4 Solaseed Air
After over four years without Pokémon livery, Solaseed Air, a Japanese airline based at Miyazaki Airport, introduced a Boeing 737-800 with a new design in December 2020. With an Exeggutor livery, it was the first livery to feature a single species only. All previous designs used a combination of characters. The aircraft's exterior shows images of the monster on a bed of grass, and there is a themed interior.
3 ANA Pokémon 2011 Peace Jet
Originally planned to be chosen from a design contest and a vote for the favorite livery, the airline decided to suspend the contest following the 2011 earthquake and chose the livery themselves from the design options. The design symbolized a peaceful world and was named the Peace Jet. The livery was painted on a Boeing 777-300 from 2011 to 2016.
2 China Airlines Pikachu Jet CI
As reported by Simple Flying, this is the latest Pokémon-themed jet and the first to feature in Taiwan. It is one of the first Airbus A321neo aircraft to be delivered to China Airlines. Featuring 11 Pokémon characters, the Pokémon Company designed it exclusively for the airline, and it uses bright colors to create a vivid livery, complementing China Airlines color scheme.
1 ANA Pokémon Jet
ANA initially unveiled two aircraft with Pokémon livery in 1998, with a further aircraft a few weeks later. These aircraft were all deployed on Japanese domestic flights. Two liveries were painted on Boeing 767-300 aircraft, but our favorite was the livery on the 747-400D. This was the original design, and with it being on such an iconic aircraft, we believe this is still the best one. We are also unlikely to see a Pokémon livery on a Boeing 747 again. Interestingly, this was not the first themed livery for this aircraft, as it had previously been painted with a Snoopy design in 1996.
ANA released a fourth aircraft with Pokémon livery in 1999. This was another Boeing 747-400 used on international routes. The only difference in the livery was the ANA logo on the vertical stabilizer.
These are some of our favorites but please let us know what yours are in the comments box! Are you excited to see more countries and carriers adding Pokemon liveries?