Star Wars

Travel tidbits from United, Alaska, SEA & R2D2

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Tech glitch hits United Airlines Wednesday night

Big headaches Wednesday night for United Airlines and its passengers due to a major system outage that led to widespread delays and ground stops across the country.

The airline said the issue was related to a technology glitch.

The issue was resolved late in the evening, but it may take days for all travelers on delayed and canceled flights to get to their destinations.

Alaska Airlines announces new flights and a new livery

Alaska Airlines is making news left and right. This week, the carrier announced new routes to London and Reykjavik from Seattle starting in Spring 2026, adding to previously announced new service to Rome, also set to begin in Spring 2026.

The airline also unveiled a new livery for its 787-9 aircraft and announced that by Spring all Dreamliners in its fleet will be flying with this new design.

Already, there’s debate over the new livery.

Some people love it. But others are disappointed because the smiling face of the Inuk man known as “Chester” – which has been a staple on the tail of Alaska Airlines’ aircraft for years – is nowhere to be seen.

What do you think?

Sweet pre-security treats at SEA Airport

There used to be a couple of vending machiens filled with fun and unusual Asian treats in the waiting area outside international arrivals at Seattle-Tacome International Airport.

An equally cool – maybe cooler – concession has taken its place.

All Nippon Airways – ANA – retires its R2-D2 Start Wars livery

ANA (All Nippon Airways) introduced a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with an R2-D2 livery back in September 2015.

After delighting fans and planespottsers with this livery for almost 10 years, the livery was retired on August 6.

Polly want a first class ticket?

We’re hoping this parrot that landed at Dublin Airport has been reunited wiht its family.

Airports mark Star Wars Day – May the 4th

Holidays,

Star Wars fans celebrated the unofficial holiday of Star Wars Day on May 4th and airports worldwide got into the spirit with fun in-terminal events and online posts.

Here’s a round-up of some of the posts we spotted, including one from the National Air & Space Museum reminding us that one of the 400 mailboxes the US Postal Service cleverly turned into R2-D2 look-alikes back in 2007 is on view at the museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.

Let us know if we missed your favorite post.

Stuck at the Airport: Airlines & Airports Mark Star Wars Day

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Airlines and airports went all out to celebrate Star Wars Day, May 4th, with parades, appearances by costumed Star Wars characters, and a good dose of out-of-this-world wackiness.

Here are just some of the events and “May the Fourth Be With You” wishes we spotted.

Let us know if we missed your favorite.

May is a good time to land at Denver Int’l Airport

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Sadly, the 250-ft tall Red Eye Ferris wheel announced by Denver International Airport (DEN) on April 1 was just an April’s Fools joke.

But there are plenty of real events coming to the airport during May that travelers will enjoy.

May The Fourth Be With You

Like some other airports around the country, Denver International Airport has a good time on Star Wars Day – May 4th.

This year they’ll do it again. On Thursday, May 4 characters from the Star Wars movies will be parading in the Jeppesen Terminal and all the concourses between 10:30 am and 1 pm.

Travelers will be able to get their pictures taken with Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mandalorian, and a Stormtrooper.

On Friday, May 5, DEN Airport will celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a performance by the Baila Conmigo Dance Group in the Jeppesen Terminal Great Hall and in the concourses between 10 am and 1 pm.

National Paper Airplane Day 

And on Friday, May 26th between 9 am and noon, Denver International Airport will be celebrating National Paper Airplane Day.

From 9 am until noon a traveling craft station will visit the concourses at DEN with a supply of origami paper and offer tutorials on how to fold the perfect paper airplane.

See the list of these and other events at Denver International Airport here.

Alaska Airlines’ new Star Wars-themed airplane

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 Alaska Airlines made good use of May the Fourth – Star Wars Day – to unveil a new Star Wars-themed aircraft.

The plane has the iconic Millennium Falcon emblazoned on the tail chased by TIE fighters and is a tie-in with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the newest land of adventure at Disneyland park.

The plane, with a tail number of N538AS, has the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Resort logos in the center of the fuselage. And you’ll see porgs, the cute avian creatures that lived on Luke Skywalker’s remote island, on both winglets. Another porg is at the boarding door.

Here’s a cool video showing the plane being painted.

To make this happen, it took 228 gallons of paint applied during 540 work hours over 27 days.

(All photos and video courtesy Alaska Airlines)

Airlines, airports mark May the Fourth

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If you are flying across the country, or to a galaxy far, far away, on Alaska Airlines on Wednesday, May 4th, be sure to wear your favorite Star Wars clothing.

Alaska Airlines also just showed off a new Star Wars/Disneyland livery.

We know other airlines and many airports also celebrate May the Fourth, so check back here for additions throughout the day. And let us know what we’ve missed.

Here is one of our favorites from last year’s May the Fourth airport celebrations

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Orlando Int’l Airport

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It’s only Monday, but we may already have a nomination for Airport Amenity of the Week.

Especially if you’re a fan of Star Wars and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Passengers traveling through Orlando International Airport (MCO) will find that some of the tram shuttle stations are now decorated to evoke Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the new 14-acre land inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Arriving passengers getting ready to board the shuttles for the airport’s Main Terminal will see life-size depictions of characters and scenes from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

One scene creates a dimensional landscape that feels as if visitors are standing inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. They’ll see the iconic Millennium Falcon and other landmarks from the new amusement park land.

In another scene, it will appear to passengers as if First Order Stormtroopers are waiting to step off the shuttle as the train arrives in the station.

Make way…

There’s more.

At the Magic of Disney store located inside the main terminal in the pre-security West Hall, there’s now a fun new photo op location featuring droids from the Star Wars galaxy.

And when the airport’s second Magic of Disney store reopens on November 22 in the Main Terminal East Hall, an exterior wall will feature a 36-foot-long video screen showing scenes from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Should we just go ahead and make this the Airport Amenity of the Week?

(Photos courtesy Orlando International Airport)

May the fourth be with you -at airports and in the air

Fun Stuff,

Fans of Star Wars – in all its incarnations – are celebrating today in all sorts of way.

For travelers it means discounts and some offbeat fun:

All day today JetBlue will be sending out 25% discount codes ( a fourth off…) via social media channels.

And at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, a cast of  costumed airport employees handed Hans Rolos candy to passengers and tested then with Star Wars trivia.

 

 

 

ANA’s BB-8 Star Wars plane #3 +contest

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ANA STAR WARS BB-8

Japan’s All Nippon Airways – ANA – has been thrilling Star Wars fans with its series of Star War’s liveried planes and on March 27 the third and final aircraft in the specially-decorated series of planes will start flying international routes.

The aircraft will be unveiled in a ceremony on March 27 at Osaka’s Itami Airport, where the special livery was applied, and will then make a one-off domestic flight as ANA22 from Itami to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

At just past midnight on March 29, the plane will take off as ANA Flight 106 to Los Angeles and it will then fly various international routes between Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita and Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Houston.

The Star Wars theme isn’t just on the outside of the BB-8 plane. Inside passengers will find special BB-8 paper cups and headrest covers and find cabin attendants wearing BB-8 aprons.

Want to get on board?

ANA is having a contest to give away a pair of round-trip economy class tickets from Los Angeles to Tokyo for the first outbound flight. If you don’t win the first prize, you may win one of the 50 second prizes: a special BB-8™ ANA JET model plane.

Enter the BB-8 ANA Jet Sweepstakes here.