United Airlines to take flyers far, far away in new Star Wars-themed plane

United Airlines has revealed its new Star Wars-inspired livery, which will take flight next month to coincide with the cinematic release of the latest Star Wars saga.

Beginning next month, United will dispatch a special Boeing 737-800 aircraft emblazoned with a glowing light saber on its tail and images of X-wing and TIE fighter starships from the film franchise, as part of a promotional tie-in with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The conclusion of the Skywalker story hits theatres worldwide in December 2019.

Along with the new aircraft livery, the Star Wars experience aboard United Airlines will also include special boarding music, themed aircraft interiors, branded headsets and a new Star Wars-themed in-flight safety video.

The partnership takes a page out of the marketing playbook of Air New Zealand, which popularised the marketing strategy of riding the wave of blockbuster films, notably with The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.

Aviation and Star Wars fans can also track the aircraft via online flight tracking platform FlightAware on both mobile and desktop as the “X-wing” starship.

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