Japan Airlines has unveiled a new livery on one of the company's aircraft which features Japanese baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani. Dubbed the "Dream Sho Jet", Japanese and international travelers have a chance to fly on this special Airbus jet until March 2026.
Shohei's Special Ride
Over month after the Los Angeles Dodger's captured their eighth World Series championship, Japan Airlines had debuted a special aircraft featuring the team's designated hitter and Japanese native Shohei Ohtani. Entering service on September 29, the Airbus A350-900 features six different images of Ohtani — three on each side of the aircraft. This simple design was said to be conceptualized by Ohtani himself.
The special jet design marks the start of the airline's "Dream Miles Pass" project. This project offers travel assistance in collaboration with Japan Airlines Mileage Bank (JMB) members. This project aims to allow rewards members the option to exchange miles for travel fares for young, aspiring prodigies to pursue their dreams — as Ohtani did. Students age 15 and above have the chance to win a round-trip domestic or international flight by sharing their story on X or Instagram. The airline plans to host "several rounds" of this project.
The Airbus's first flight took place on September 29 from Tokyo Haneda Airport to New Chitose Airport. The aircraft will exclusively fly domestically with no current plans for international travel.
Those who board the special aircraft will receive three free complimentary items: A paper drinking cup featuring the "Dream Show Jet" logo and MLB team logos, a special boarding certificate, and a collector's ticket commemorating how many kilometers Ohtani traveled since Hinamaki Higashi High School to join MLB: 892,440 kilometers.
See the Plane on Video
Nippon TV News released a video, narrated in English, of the unveiling of the new Ohtani-themed plane and offerings for travelers that get to board it. The event also featured Olympic gold medalists, fencer Koki Kano and javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi that both shared their thoughts on the Dream Miles Pass project.
This isn't the first Japanese native-turned MLB star that the airline has featured. In 2003, Japan Airlines designed two jets with the likeness of New York Yankees player Hideki Matsui. One was a Boeing 747, with the other being an Airbus A300-600.
Ohtani currently has a sponsorship deal with Japan Airlines, though rival airline Air Nippon Airways happens to be the official airline of the Los Angeles Dodgers.