Air Asia Japan Files Bankruptcy

 

AirAsia Japan, an affiliate of low-cost carrier Air Asia, filed bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.

Air Asia Japan started flight operations just three years ago from its hub at Centrair Chubu International Airport (NGO) near Nagoya to three domestic destinations of Sapporo Shin-Chitose, Sendai, and Fukuoka as well as one international route to Taipei. Its total debt is estimated at about JPY 22 billion. With a forthcoming decision by the courthouse, the carrier will start bankruptcy processes.

However, with the overwhelming negative impact of COVID-19, the carrier saw its revenue dropping and no sign of recovery leading to cease all operations by December 5, 2020.

Its employees counting 280 are now mostly dismissed and looking for new employment opportunities.

ANA Requests Toyota to Accept Surplus Peronnel

 

ANA Holdings, expecting the largest loss in its history of JPY500 billion (USD 5 billion)  will announce its business restructuring plans on October 27.  We learned its outline as follows:

• In order to reduce its payrolls by 3,500 persons by fiscal 2022, ANA will request companies such as Toyota Motor to accept its employees on loan as well as freezing new hires

• Salary of its employees will be cut by 5% per month, no plans for winter bonuses for them

• International flights, if they restart, will be concentrated to Tokyo Haneda first

• The fleet size of larger aircraft will be reduced by 30%, deferring to accept the third example of A380 by a year

In the meantime, ANA will launch a new subsidiary to make use of data of its mileage program members for new merchandising.

Personnel expenses account for about 30% of its fixed cost. Toyota and others are reportedly starting to plan to accept excess ANA employees. 

ANA’s ambitious business expansion plans turned to backfire with the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant slowing down of the aviation market.

ANA will try to survive in the reversed business environment by securing JPY 500 billion by issuing its subordinated bond.

ANA Flies Idle A380 for Domestic Charter Service

 

ANA

Mynavi News reported that All Nippon Airways (ANA) operated its Airbus A380, called Flying Honu, for a chartered flight for paid passengers in Japan to make them feel like flying to Hawaii.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, ANA’s A380s, exclusively put in its Hawaii route, were grounded. This chartered flight was after a five-month period.

The chartered flight took place on August 22, 2020, from Narita for about 90 minutes as a special summer experience for the lucky passengers who won their tickets out of so many applications. 

A spokesperson for ANA told reporters that the carrier would offer the same flight experience and fun to passengers through precautions against the epidemic disease. 

By putting the aircraft to a chartered flight, ANA could avoid mandatory heavy maintenance for an aircraft without flying for over 90 days.

Inside the cabin, flight attendants wore Aloha shirts serving the passengers with drinks while showing the same safety video meant for passengers destined to Hawaii so that the passengers could feel like flying to Hawaii.

The fares for the flight ranged from JPY 14,000 (about USD 130) for economy class and JPY50,000 (about USD 470), quite reasonable for wide variety of passengers of aircraft and travelling enthusiasts. ANA reportedly received 150 timers greater applicants to the available seats

ANA announced it would operate another chartered flight in September thanks to such a big interest.■

 

MoD to Announce Very New Style of Contracting for Japan's Next Fighter Jet Development

Japan's Next Fighter Jet to Develop with Sole Contractor from Japan

----July 28, 2020----

The Nikkei Shimbun web edition reported today the Defense Ministry of Japan has chosen contracting with a sole company in Japan for the development of the next fighter jets for its  air self-defense force to be deployed from 2035. The Defense Ministry will announce this style of contracting very soon, the Nikkei reports.

This contractor will coordinate the development and production with participating other firms from Japan and U.S. It is intended, Nikkei assumes, to enhance development and production capabilities of Japanese firms.

The next fighter, called F-3, will replace current Mitsubishi F-2 fighters, a Japan-U.S.joint work based on F-16, that will start retiring from 2035.  With appropriation of the development expenses in Japan's fiscal 2021 budget and complete prototype examples in fiscal 2024.

Estimated production size of the fighter jets is said to be ninety with approx. JPY 5 trillion budget for the entire processes including procurement.

Under the new style of fighter jet development, Japanese corporations will undergo the entire processes of designing, development and production of its battle system as well as main parts. It is highly expected U.S. corporations will join in the development with supervision of the sole contractor from Japan.

For this sole contractor, many expect Mitsubishi Heavy Industry while Kawasaki Heavy Industry, Subaru, and IHI from Japan and Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman are expected to join as contractors.

JASDF operates F-35 joint strike fighters assembled in U.S. but its key technologies are non-disclosed and Japan is not allow any modification. Its battle system should be upgraded for convenience of U.S. side. Japanese officials have voiced dissatisfaction with lower degree of freedom in operation and little chance to accumulate technologies in Japan's defense industry.

The selection of this style of contracting is reflecting strong wishes of Japan's defense industrial sector.

Lockheed Martin once proposed a hybrid model of F-22 and F-35 for Japan's next fighter jets but this was never taken up as Japan has insisted to develop the new fighter with its own initiative. 

Some speculates U.S. will demand Japan to make the development with more American involvement after November U.S. presidential election, Nikkei reports.

Japan's Newest Carrier ZIPAIR Starts Flight Service as Cargo Only

画像：ZIPAIRプレスリリース

ZIPAIR Tokyo or ZIPAIR, a newly established low cost carrier subsidiary of Japan Airlines, inaugurated its scheduled cargo flight from Narita to Bangkok, Thailand on June 3, 2020.

ZIPAIR, a whole owned by JAL, operates two Boeing 787-8s. The new LCC aims at starting other routes to Southeast Asian destination and trans-Pacific routes.  

The carrier originally planned to start its passenger flight between Narita and Suvarnabhumi Airport from 14 May 2020 but it postponed the start due to the pandemic of COVID-19. 

Over 90 percent of scheduled international flights have been stopped, the demand for air cargo is  steadily rising and ZIPAIR has decided to launch its scheduled cargo flight at first.

ZIPAIR offers four cargo flights a week as below. 

ZG51　Narita 17:20/ Bankok 22:00 　Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat

ZG52　Bangkok 23:30/Narita 07:45（+1）　Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat

The carrier has not announced a flight schedule for its passenger flights yet.  As ZIPAIR has a plan to operate Narita-Incheon flights, it is probable that the flight to and from Korea will take place in daytime and Bangkok service will take place in night. ZIPAIR has announced its plan to start the Korean flight effective from July 1.  However, passenger service between Japan and South Korea is still under restriction and business environment is not favorable yet.

The new LCC has also announced its plans to start Narita-Honolulu flights from winter schedule of 2020.

Visit ZIPAIR website. http://www.zipairtokyo.com/en/

Mitsubishi Heavy Succeeds in Launching Spy Satellite #7

H2A #41 launched carrying the government payload of information gathering satellite optical #7. February 9, 2020, Tanegashima Space Center, Kagoshima

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) successfully launched its H2A rocket #41 from Tanegashima Space Center, Kagoshima, Japan at 10:34 a.m. (JST) on February 9, 2020. The booster had a payload of the government of Japan: Information Gathering Satellite Kogaku (Optical) #7.

H2A launching  of the day marked 35th success consecutively and its non-failure rate reached to 97.6%.

  After the launching of ballistic missile in 1998 by North Korea, Japan started its program to develop indigenous spy satellite constellation.  Today two optical sensor satellites and two radar satellites are orbiting the globe and Japan can take photography of all points on earth once per day.

The Kogaku #7 is to succeed #5 of the same type launched in March 2015. With the successful launching of the #7, operation of eight satellites, including old generation birds that surpassed design longevity has been possible by the satellite information center under the Cabinet Office. ■

Japanese air force will be renamed Air and Space Self Defense Force

The government of Japan has started its study to rename the Air Self Defense Force to the Air and Space Self Defense Force, as an attempt to strengthen defense in outer space, a new critical domain for Japan's security. This will b e the first revision of the name of the self defense forces in ground, maritime and air since the foundation of the SDF in 1954.

The new name and organization will take effect by FY2023 after revision of the Self Defense and relevant laws.

JASDF will launch 'space operation unit' in FY2020 that will start from April 1 this year.  This unit will be expanded afterward to be able to operate fully by FY2023, expecting information sharing with the Space Force of U.S.

Japan is aware of Chinese and Russian military capability development in space by developing 'killer satellite' to attack other countries' space assets.■