Gundam takes to the skies, with ANA

Fans of Gundam will finally see their favorite character take to the skies from July 16 thanks to a tie-up between Air Nippon Airways (ANA) and toy-maker Bandai. The robots vehicles have been cockpitted by humans since their 1979 TV inception and though it may be some time before technology develops an airplane body shape to match, fans will at least be able to fly inside a Gundam-plastered Boeing 777-300.

Called the ANA x Gundam Sky Project initiative, the collaboration will also see some Gundam models embellished with ANA logos, retailing at ¥3,000 and ¥8,500. 

Flights will run from July 16 from Tokyo's Haneda airport to Osaka's Itami airport, until mid-March 2011, with Fukuoka and Sapporo also getting routes. But the real value may be the tickets for those first flights -- passengers will receive special certificates which will no doubt sell for a fortune to collectors on eBay shortly after.

The Gundam Sky Project isn't the first anime airline collaboration. Here are two others that caught our attention:

ANA のエンジン全開ポケモンジェット。搭乗中のバトルはご遠慮ください。

The Pokemon Jet

In 1998 four different designs graced ANA Boeing 747-400s flying domestic and international routes. It followed competitions to design ANA planes that had previously been covered with images of whales and Snoopy. Each Pokemon Jet had five or six of the main characters, including Pikachu who was usually found near the cockpit.

可愛い飛行機に乗りたい方にお勧めのエバー航空ハローキティジェット。

Hello Kitty Jet

Taiwanese airline EVA Air teamed up with Japanese character company Sanrio in 2005 to launch the cutest airline in the world, Hello Kitty Jet. With cute seats, stewardesses as maids, and themed tickets, Kitty graced just about every condiment to create a Kitty world in the skies.