On December 3, LATAM Brazil resumed its international connectivity between São Paulo and London in the UK. After nearly a year without flying to Heathrow International Airport, LATAM restarted the flight. The airline is using its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, including one with a Star Wars livery, aptly called the Stormtrooper Plane.
Back at England
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, LATAM Brazil stopped flying between São Paulo and London on December 23, 2020. Brazil suffered many travel restrictions from countries all across the world, so there was zero demand to travel abroad. Only just recently, the Brazilian airlines are resuming back their international map routes.
Last week, LATAM operated the first flight back to London, onboard PT-MUC, a Boeing 777-300ER that is 13.03 years old, according to ch-aviation’s database. LATAM received this aircraft on December 11, 2008. The airplane has 410 seats distributed in three classes: 322 in economy, 50 in economy plus, and 38 in business. Nonetheless, this is not the Stormtrooper Plane.
¡Ya está aquí nuestro Stormtrooper Plane! 😲😲
El Stormtrooper Plane acaba de llegar de una galaxia muy, muy lejana y está listo para tomar el vuelo. LATAM y Walt Disney World, juntos creando aventuras. 🤩🤩https://t.co/4Mjtam4wEi pic.twitter.com/JutXjrtorP— LATAM España (@LATAM_ES) October 18, 2019
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The Stormtrooper Plane
On December 8, LATAM used a Boeing 777-300ER registration PT-MUA on the route between São Paulo and London. PT-MUA is better known as the Stormtrooper Plane because it has a Star Wars-related livery.
The aircraft was introduced in 2019, celebrating an alliance with Disney. LATAM chose the Boeing 777 as the perfect aircraft to be painted as a stormtrooper from the iconic movies.
In a statement, the airline said the 777-300 was perfect because it had the then-recently unveiled Premium Business Cabin. PT-MUA flew to Etihad’s Maintenance Center in Abu Dhabi, and there it received the new paint.
The Stormtrooper Plane always departs from São Paulo, and it flies to Orlando, Miami, Frankfurt, New York, London, and Madrid, according to LATAM. The South American company is not the only airline with a Star Wars livery on its fleet. In the past, other carriers like United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and All Nippon Airways have joined the Star Wars craze.
According to RadarBox.com, in November 2021, PT-MUA had 217.3 total flight hours and executed 22 flights. The main airports this aircraft has been in the last year, besides São Paulo’s Guarulhos, have been Miami, Madrid-Barajas, and Frankfurt.
IAG Cargo is back in Brazil
IAG Cargo, the freighter division of International Airlines Group (IAG), announced the return of its direct service between London-Heathrow and Rio de Janeiro. This route was paused throughout the majority of the past 20 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cargo carrier restarted the services to Rio de Janeiro on December 1 and now runs four weekly flights using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
According to the airline, the route is critical to supply automotive parts into Brazil, as well as electronic and e-commerce goods.
The London-Rio de Janeiro flight is also significant for the export of perishable products worldwide like popular tropical fruits such as papayas and melons.
Rodrigo Casal, regional commercial manager for Latin America at IAG Cargo, said,
“Brazil is an integral part of our global network. IAG Cargo will provide fast and reliable service to two important areas of the Brazilian economy – the automotive and perishables sectors, drawing on our extensive experience.”
Have you been onboard LATAM’s Star Wars Boeing 777-300? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.
