ANA Devices New Lavatory Pull Handle Style to Open by Elbow for Fear of Finger Touching Expressed by Passengers

 

ANA announced a modified door for opening the door to get out without touching the hand but with elbow actions.

A spokesperson of ANA said the passengers had expressed fear to touch on the door and the largest Japanese carrier added a handle on the pull handle so that a passenger can open the door to go out from the lavatory.

First of a kind, ANA will introduce the device to middle- and large aircraft fleet operating domestic routes in Japan.

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.■

 

Who is Best Punctual Airliner in Domestic Network in Japan?

定時運航率で見る日本のエアラインのパフォーマンス

The Editor

October 14, 2019

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has released FY2018 data on punctual departure performance records.

Japanese fiscal year covers April to March.

Accordingly, the list below shows the performance rate compiled from April 2018 to March 2019 by respective carriers. For your information, Japan Airlines in the following data includes JAL’s affiliates of J Air and Hokkaido Air Systems while ANA data also includes ANA Wings. 

Punctuality departure performance by definition means all schedule flights that could depart within 15 minutes of the schedules. However, MLIT data only covers those aircraft with 100 or more seats.

Punctual performance of carries by rank

(Unit: %, parenthesis means FY2017 data)

1st SKYMARK　 93.91 (93.06)

2nd STARFLIER 93.88 （89.86）

3rd Air Do 90.76   (90.06)

4th ANA 90.51 (88.52)

5th JAL 89.91 (90.01)

6 AirAsia Japan 88.63 (90.42)

7 Solaseed Air 87.16 (87.75)

8 Spring Japan 85.08 (83.32)

9 Peach 82.61 (79.17)

10 Jet Star Japan 81.58 (85.17)

11 Japan Trans Ocean 80.39 (83.90)

12 Vanila Air 79.33 (80.94)

I will be pleased if you could refer to the above data when you plan domestic flight in Japan next time.

ANA-Toyota Boshoku Win 2019 Good Design Award for Cabin Passenger Seat

ANA-Toyota Boshoku Joint Designed Passenger Seat Awarded as ‘Good Design’

A new seat for domestic economy class jointly developed by ANA and Toyota Boshoku.

A newly designed passenger seat by ANA and Toyota Boshoku, a major car interior specialized firm as a Toyota Motor group, won the ‘2019 Good Design Award.’ The seat is for domestic routes and ANA will introduce the seats from Fall, 2019.

The winning seat is designed to accommodate any physiques and features of higher convenience for passengers while the slim seat design is intended to give more openness in the cabin. 

Annual Good Desing Award is now a global design competition with the participation of companies and organizations in and out of Japan for better design applications for social challenges. Its icon of ‘G mark’ is accepted as a symbol of excellent designs.　The designs reflect know-how of both ANA as experienced carrier and Toyota Boshoku for manufacturing quality it earned during decades of car seats for automobiles.

New Air Force One of Japan Arrives at Chitose

Recapping Japanese Air Force One: Enter 777-300ERs, Exit 747-400s

JASDF welcomes your ideas on how to make use of retired aircraft

Asahi Shimbun

From various domestic reporting,

First example of a pair of new Boeing 777-300ERs ordered by the government of
Japan (GOJ) has arrived at  Shin Chitose Airport, Hokkaido, on August 17.
The aircraft will undergo an official commissioning ceremony at the adjacent
Chitose Air Base of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) followed by
preparations for its full-fledged operations from April 2019 including pilots and
crew training.

The new aircraft features a new lively inspired from the national flag of Japan,
with air stream red line painted on white airframe and big circle of red on vertical
wing. Another example will arrive to Japan by December.

In 2013 GOJ started replacement of current pair of Boeing 747-400s that started
operations in 1993.  In the following year, it was downselected to a pair of Boeing
777-300ERs. Estimated cost of JPY37 billion a piece, the new GOJ exclusive
aircraft fleet will show better fuel economy and extended range to carry such VIPs as
the Emperor, prime ministers and such for their overseas trips. As there is no
operator of passenger 747s in Japan and there will be no place for maintenance of
Boeing 747s in Japan after 2019, GOJ had tochoose a new aircraft to replace the
747s.

Maintenance of the new fleet is contracted to ANA instead of Japan Air Lines that
currently is designated for the Boeing 747-400s.

#1 aircraft was assembled in Seattle, Washington and underwent its interior work
by Jet Aviation in Basel, Switzerland.

As the current fleet of Boeing 747-400s. 20-1011 and 20-1012, will cease operations
by the end of March 2019, JASDF has started request for information on how to
make use of the aircraft after their retirement. GOJ acquired the two aircraft in the
early 1990s with JPY 36 billion. The fleet logged over 16,000 flight hours by
supporting Japanese diplomacy since then.

As they are the very first aircraft for exclusive use of GOJ, they have historical
value and known for their contribution to Japan.

JASDF held a briefing session for interested parties to make use of the 747s after
the retirement where over 15 corporations and organizations took part in. RFI will
be closed on August 24 and JASDF is reportedly to finalize its plans.

Some of retired JASDF aircraft have been preserved and exhibited at JASDF
museum in Hamamatsu Air Base and other places. But they huge birds. Since
the 747s have been based on Chitose Air Base, its home town Chitose city
sought after a chance to preserve the aircraft but it gave up the idea after
knowing it takes over JPY 100 million annually for its maintenance.

JASDF welcomes your innovative plans and proposals. ■

Frustrated ANA will get extra 737-800s as Filler of Delayed MRJs

2017/4/7 the editor

NIKKEI　reports ANA Holdings has decided to acquire Boeing 737-800s in place of MRJ, a Mitsubishi regional jet, that is being delayed in delivery due to prolonged developmment. Those Boing jets will start oprations in local cities lines from fiscal 2018.   ANA was supposed to be the launch customer of MRJ for the hope of its fuel economy but the largest Japanese airliner is facing with its revision of investment plans.

MRJ was originally scheduled to be delivered to ANA as soon as late 2013 but it is still in redesigning state.

ANA will introduce four Boeing 737-800 with 160 seat configuration by leasing. Those new 737s will replace 737-500 with 120 seats currently in operation based on Chubu international airport and other regional airports.

ANA Holdings has already introduced the same 737-800 with 30 over units in operation. But as MRJ has fewer seats and those 737-800s will add risks of more empty seats and lowered investment returns. ANA will work harder to allure more foreign tourists to those local lines.

ANA Holdings may ask financial compensation to Mitsubishi Aircraft, the manufacturer of MRJ, adding another problem to Mitsubishi.

ANA Gets More New Slots at Haneda Next Year

   

Dispute over Who Gets More International Flight Slots at Expanded Haneda:

Gov’t Decision in Favor of ANA

All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Tokyo Haneda Int’l Airport   

October 2, 2013, various sources

Sankei Shimbun reported today as follows: For allocation of newly available slots for international flights at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, which is due to complete a new expansion project by the end of March, 2014, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is allegedly giving more slots to ANA than JAL.

Newly available are designated for international arrival/departure slots during ‘daytime’ i.e. 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the gateway to Tokyo city center and MILT is going to allocate a total of 16 slots to Japanese carriers. These slots are supposed to be used for European trunk lines as well as shorter routes for Asian destinations including China and Indonesia. Allegedly ANA will be given around 10 slots at the final stage of coordination by MILT.

International slots are known for high profitability and it is said a daytime slot can generate annual revenues of about 10 billion yen (100 million U.S. dollars).  ANA has been claiming that the airliner deserves to receive more slots than Japan Airlines that was rescued by public funding from its bankruptcy. and the gap of corporate performance was artificially widened between the two carriers  JAL reacted to this ANA’s request by saying ‘a fair competition calls for an equal distribution of the slots.’

MLIT, on the other hand, has judged that ‘awarding of an official support should not distort a competitive environment into an inappropriate manner’ and will permit ANA to get two slots for German destinations and one slot for Canadian destination to ANA.. Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported ANA will receive 11 slots and JAL will get 5 slots

ANA's October Performance: Internatinal Flights Grew by 8.1% while Domestic Passengers Down 12.6%

from Reuter, 8 December　2009

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has released its group-wide performance in October showing a total of 364,726 passengers or 8.1% increase over the same period of the last year, makirng three-month consecutive growth over the last year. This good performance can be attributed to shorter distance tourism from Japan to such destinations as Thailand and Korea. On the other hand, its domestic operations in October showed 3.419 million passengers system wide or 12.6% fewer than the same month of the last year. ANA's domestic passengers decreased 25-month consecutively with its drop in October was larger than September due to increased cancelled flights by a typhoon.

Editor's note: ANA's stock price at Tokyo Stock Exchange was 251 yen per stock as of December 9.