The ANA GranWhale NFT Marketplace was made public by its subsidiary ANA NEO, which specializes in building immersive digital experiences within the ANA ecosystem. Luke Ozawa, a veteran aviation photographer with 50 years of experience, will have work in the first NFT collection on the website.
NFTs of two digital 3D aircraft, including a customized Boeing 787 that the airline debuted in 2011, and a collection of pixelated airline pilots from generative art called Airbits are among the other collections.
The ANA Group stated in a press release that it will apply NFT to the aviation industry and promote the business to develop new connections with customers.
With 69 firms, including ANA and Peach Aviation, ANA Holdings was founded in 2013 and bills itself as the largest airline group holding company in Japan. The ANA Gran Whale metaverse travel experience, which is being developed by ANA NEO, will incorporate users’ trip records into their digital avatars.
Like other airlines, ANA is exploring the integration of cryptocurrency concepts into its business offerings. Earlier this year, a low-cost Argentinian airline announced its partnership with NFT ticketing company TravelX to offer e-tickets as NFTs on the Algorand blockchain. In April 2022, TravelX also joined forces with Spanish airline Air Europa to introduce a number of NFT tickets tied to exclusive benefits and events, and in October 2022, Latin American cryptocurrency exchange Lemon integrated TravelX onto its platform, enabling users to purchase and trade plane tickets.
