By KEIICHI KITAGAWA/ Staff Writer
October 19, 2020 at 18:19 JST
KITA-KYUSHU--Passengers who dreamed of traveling through space could sit back and enjoy the ride through the galaxy on a flight with a star-filled night overhead on Oct. 17.
Domestic airline company Star Flyer Inc. offered a night flight complete with planetarium equipment projecting an awe-inspiring starry sky inside the cabin.
Ninety-six lucky passengers were taken on the ride through the universe, courtesy of the portable Megastar Class planetarium equipment.
The flight departed from and arrived back at Kita-Kyushu Airport. It flew over the Kyushu and Shikoku regions in western Japan.
The stars were projected on the cabin ceiling and overhead storage bins from equipment placed on drink carts and moved about during the hour and a half flight from 7 p.m.
The in-flight planetarium project was the brainchild of a young airline employee and chosen through a company competition.
The airline sought 39 groups for the flight, but 318 groups, about eight times more, applied for a seat.
Star Flyer plans to offer similar novelty flights as a way to utilize its aircraft as the number of passengers has decreased due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
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A dazzling array of stars are projected on the ceiling and overhead storage bins of the cabin of a Star Flyer Inc. aircraft during a flight over Kagoshima Prefecture on Oct. 17. (Motoki Nagasawa)
