All Nippon Airways has launched a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) business following airBaltic, Qantas, and Etihad Airways. The company was launched on May 30th by ANA NEO, which is also owned by the ANA Group.
A Non-Fungible Token is a technology that expresses ownership of digital assets and is recorded on a blockchain. The technology has mainly been used in the fields of arts and music, but ANA will follow in the steps of other airlines and sell aviation-themed NFT products.
In July 2022, Etihad Airways launched its NFT collection called “EY-ZERO1.” This collection featured 3D models of ten Etihad Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner liveries, such as the “Greenliner” livery and the Manchester City Football Club livery.
ANA NEO will be the first airline to launch an NFT marketplace called ANA GranWhale NFT MarketPlace, where it will sell products under the ANA NFT collection. ANA GranWhale is a virtual travel platform that uses virtual reality to recreate destinations across the gold in the metaverse.
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787-themed NFTs for sale
The ANA Group will use the NFT collection to create new connections with customers. Established in 2013, the ANA Group is the largest airline group holding company in Japan which includes Peach Aviation and ANA.
ANA’s marketplace launched with 267 NFTs for sale on May 30th. These included works by aviation photographer Luke Ozawa and each NFT by Ozawa costs ¥100,000 ($717 USD). The second set of products will go on sale from June 7th and will include over 1,500 additional NFTs, such as two digital 3D renderings of ANA’s Boeing 787s. One of them is designed with the same special livery ANA put on its first 787 aircraft when it became the aircraft’s launch customer in 2011. ANA Group plans to increase the number of aviation-inspired NFT products from multiple regions in Japan available in the future.
Crowded field
It will join other carriers, including Etihad and airBaltic, moving to invest in the blockchain. airBaltic is credited for its early use of cryptocurrency payments when it became the first airline to accept payments through Bitcoin in 2014. The Latvian carrier also became the first airline to launch multiple NFTs in 2021, which included digital art featuring Latvia’s cultural and heritage sites, part of a tourism campaign to increase the number of visitors to the Baltic nation. Each NFT was sold for 1ETH ($1,904 USD).
Both airBaltic and Etihad’s NFT collections have featured “planies,” which are aircraft-themed digital cartoons. On the other hand, Northern Pacific’s loyalty program called “Fly Coin” is wholly based on cryptocurrency. Instead of travelers receiving miles for flying Northern Pacific, they will receive a Fly Coin, which they can trade on the exchanges.
ANA is not the first carrier to shift to the digital world. Recently Qatar Airways launched the QVerse, in which it took its first steps into metaverse technology. The QVerse allows users to explore Qatar’s aircraft from their homes and be guided by a virtual flight attendant. Although the metaverse opens up new possibilities, how airlines will best use the technology to their advantage is unknown.