“Wild Pikachus have been spotted in Taoyuan!” A Japanese plane with a special Pikachu-themed livery touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday for a scheduled 13-day stay.
The body of the plane is painted entirely yellow, the trademark color of arguably the world’s second most famous cartoon rodent, and also is covered in images of the famous Pokémon character in action.
The plane entered service with Japan’s Skymark Airlines last June and is scheduled to keep its Pikachu paint job for five years.
The design is the result of a collaboration between Skymark Airlines and The Pokémon Company, the firm responsible for the brand management, production, publication, marketing, and licensing of all intellectual properties and characters from the famous franchise.
The plane will be grounded from the morning of March 5 until the evening of March 18 for service and maintenance at the hands of Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp.
While Skymark does not operate routes to Taiwan, Taoyuan’s hangars are able to service the aircraft, which is a Boeing 737-800.
As the plane will depart from Taiwan on March 18 to resume services between Okinawa and other domestic locations in Japan, fans of the popular anime character are encouraged to visit the areas near Taoyuan airport now to try and “spot the rare Pokémon” before the plane is “blasting off again.”
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel