Exploring Japan's jewel and pride! ANA (History #19)

Exploring the History, Fleet, and Global Expansion of Japan's Leading Star Alliance Carrier

Brooke Bobincheck

Owner, Chief Operator

Brooke In The Air Travel LLC

Greetings readers! For today's analysis, we'll be switching hemispheres to the East. We will focus on one of Japan's two flag carriers; one of two East Asian island nations with more than one flag carrier. The other island nation being Taiwan. I won't keep you in suspense; Japan's two carriers are Japan Airlines (JAL), a One World Alliance member, and All Nippon Airways or ANA, a Star Alliance member and United's partner airline in East Asia. We will be focusing on All Nippon Airways, ANA.

ANA's Earliest Ancestors

ANA's earliest ancestor was Japan Helicopter & Aeroplane Transports Company, Nippon Herikoputā Yusō) (also known commonly as Nippon Helicopter and Aeroplane Company), an airline company founded on 27th of December 1952. Nippon Helicopter was the source of what would later be ANA's International Air Transport Association (IATA) code NH.

NH began helicopter services in February of 1953. In December 1953, it operated its first cargo flight between Osaka and Tokyo using a de Havilland Dove helicopter; de Havilland was a primary constructor of allied bombers for Britain during the war. This is noteworthy as it was the first scheduled flight flown by a Japanese pilot in postwar Japan. Passenger service on the same route began in February of 1954, just after the nearby Korean War had settled into a long yet uneasy ceasefire along the 38th parallel.

ANA's other ancestor was Far East Airlines (or Kyokutō Kōkū). Although it was founded on the 26th of December 1952, one day before Nippon Helicopter, it did not begin operations until a month later on the 20th of January 1954, when it began nightly cargo runs between Osaka and Tokyo, also using a de Havilland Dove. It adopted the US-manufactured Douglas DC-3 aircraft in early 1957, by which point its route network extended through southern Japan from Tokyo to Kagoshima. It is ironic, in a way, that a retrofitted military-to-passenger aircraft they were fighting against less than fifteen years ago, they were now using to ferry Japanese passengers on domestic routes from city to city.

The Merger and the Jet Age

Far East Airlines merged with the newly named All Nippon Airways in March 1958; Far East Airlines and Nippon Helicopter & Aeroplane Company had combined to form All Nippon Airways. The combined companies had a total market capitalization of 600 million yen, and the result of the merger was Japan's largest private airline. or as they were known for a time, under the name Zen Nippon Kūyu; or All Japan Air Transport. The new united airline ran a route network that was amalgamated from its two predecessors, and the company logo of the larger NH was chosen to serve as its logo.

Entering the Jet Age, Boeing 747s were introduced on the Tokyo-Sapporo (intracontinental) and Tokyo-Fukuoka (also intracontinental) routes in 1976 and Boeing 767s in 1983 on Shikoku routes. The carrier's first Boeing 747s were the short-range 747-SR variant, designed specifically for Japanese domestic routes. Boeing 747-SPs were also a popular mass market version of the famous Queen of the Skies that saw most of their production be bought by ANA.

1986 - The Dawn of ANA's International Age

1986 represented the dawn of ANA's International age; spawning an effort to expand beyond being Japan's key domestic carrier to become a competitive international carrier. If successful, they would break Japan Airlines' monopoly as the sole Japanese flag carrier.

On 3 March 1986, ANA started scheduled international flights with a passenger service from Tokyo to Guam. Flights to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., followed by year's end, and ANA also entered a service agreement with American Airlines to feed the US carrier's new flights to ANA's home base at Tokyo-Narita International Airport.

ANA expanded its international services gradually:

• to Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong and south to Sydney in Australia in 1987
• to Seoul in 1988
• to London and the island of Saipan in 1989
• to Paris, France in 1990
• to New York-JFK, and Singapore-Changi Airport both in 1991

Airbus equipment such as the A320 and A321 was added to the domestic fleet in the early 1990s, as was the newest iteration of the 747, the Boeing 747-400 variant for long haul international routes. ANA joined the Star Alliance in October 1999, two years after the alliance's founding.

2004 and Beyond

The year 2004 saw ANA's profits exceed JAL's for the first time. That year, facing a surplus of slots due to the construction of new airports and the ongoing expansion of Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport, not to be confused with the also-Tokyo airport, Narita), ANA announced a fleet renewal plan that would replace some of its large aircraft with a greater number of smaller aircraft.

Narita and Haneda Airports

Let's clear up the confusion between Narita and Haneda Airports. Both are considered Tokyo International Airport, and when hailing a taxi or requesting an uber, the driver will usually ask "which airport?" The choice usually comes down to personal preference as both are international airports, both are home to an immense number of slots or gates, and both are hubs for various airlines, though ANA maintains its central hub and base at Narita. If you would like the airport that is technically closer to central Tokyo, what in the West we call downtown, then Haneda Airport is your best bet as it is closer to most major hotels and attractions, and thus cheaper and easier to reach. While conversely, Narita offers decidedly cheaper flights, and a wider variety of international routes while the airport is located in what we would call the outer suburbs. Now back to All Nippon Airways.

Continuing in the calendar year 2004, ANA set up low-cost subsidiary Air Next to operate flights from Fukuoka Airport starting in 2005, Air Next did not last terribly long and was folded back into the ANA mainline fleet. ANA soon became the majority shareholder in Nakanihon Airline Service (NAL) headquartered in Nagoya Airport. In 2005, ANA renamed NAL to Air Central, and relocated its headquarters to Chūbu Centrair International Airport. In July, 2005, ANA reached a deal with NYK to sell its 27.6% share in Nippon Cargo Airlines, a joint venture formed between the two companies in 1987. Nippon Cargo Airlines would eventually be recovered and bought out by ANA. This was a boon at the time, as this 27.6% share sale allowed ANA to focus on developing its own cargo division. Thus, by 2006, ANA, Japan Post, Nippon Express, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines founded ANA & JP Express (AJV), which would operate exclusively freighters. ANA is the top shareholder of AJV. It absorbed Air Japan's freighter operations.

ANA & JP Express would eventually be folded into ANA's long-running LCC subsidiary, Air Japan, which in turn was folded back into ANA's mainline fleet, perpetuating a cycle. As of 2026, Air Japan no longer exists.

Airline of the Year

Air Transport World magazine named ANA its 2007 "Airline of the Year". In 2006, 2010, and 2014, the airline was recognized by FlightOnTime.info as the most punctual scheduled airline between London-Heathrow and Tokyo-Narita for the last four consecutive years, based on official British statistics.

In November of the same year, ANA also announced "Inspiration of JAPAN", ANA's newest international flight concept, with redesigned cabins initially launched on its 777-300ER long-haul aircraft. Even now, every ANA aircraft has "Inspiration of Japan" written on the side of its fuselage.

AirAsia Japan and Vanilla Air

In July of 2011, All Nippon Airways and the major low-cost carrier of the Far East, AirAsia, agreed to form a low-cost carrier, called AirAsia Japan, based at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. ANA held 51 percent shares and AirAsia held 33 percent voting shares and 16 percent non-voting shares through its wholly owned subsidiary, AA International. The carrier lasted until October 2013, when AirAsia withdrew from the joint venture; the carrier was subsequently rebranded as Vanilla Air, a low-cost carrier solely under the control of ANA.

In March 2018, All Nippon Airways announced the integration of its two low cost carrier subsidiaries Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air into one entity retaining the Peach name and thus eliminating Vanilla Air entirely; to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2019.

On the 29th of January, 2019, ANA Holdings purchased a 9.5% stake in PAL Holdings, Philippine Airlines' parent company, for US$95 million. These diversifications and low-cost carriers enabled All Nippon Airways to weather the COVID pandemic better than most other airlines until travel restrictions were lifted in 2022 and international travel was normalized in 2023.

Corporate Structure and Headquarters

The corporate layout of All Nippon Airways is as follows. There is no corporate or C-Suite as in the United States. All Nippon Airways has been led by only a president and CEO since April 2013, when a new parent company was formed. The chairman of All Nippon Airways became the chairman of the holding company, and All Nippon Airways officially ceased to have its own independent chairman in 2014.

All Nippon Airways is and has been (for at least thirty years) headquartered in the Shiodome City Center, located in the Shiodome area of Minato ward in Tokyo. In 2002, ANA announced plans to occupy up to ten floors in the under-construction Shiodome City Center and to relocate some subsidiaries there. The building opened in 2003, becoming ANA's new corporate headquarters. However, the headquarters has been moved a record four times.

• Prior to relocating to its current site, the company was headquartered on the grounds of Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in Ōta ward, Tokyo.
• From the 1970s to the late 1990s, ANA's headquarters were in the Kasumigaseki Building in Chiyoda ward (for reference, Chiyoda is the beating heart of Tokyo and home to the Imperial Palace and National Theatre), Tokyo.
• In the late 1960s when the airline was large enough to warrant its own offices, the airline was based in the Hikokan Building in Shinbashi, Minato ward.

Subsidiaries and Ownership

Commercial aviation subsidiaries of ANA include:

• Air Japan (defunct, folded back into ANA mainline fleet)
• ANA Wings (regional subsidiary, akin to United Express for United Airlines)
• Air Do (major shareholder)
• Nippon Cargo Airlines (owned in whole)
• Peach (wholly-owned low-cost carrier)
• Philippine Airlines (9.5% shareholder)
• Vietnam Airlines (5.62% shareholder)
• the IFTA (Flight Training Academy training pilots for ANA Group airlines and other worldwide airlines by contract)

They also have minority ownership in the Asian division of IHG Hotels group (ANA IHG Hotels). They sold the majority stake in the company to IHG-proper.

Fleet

All Nippon Airways maintains a comparatively massive fleet.

ANA's short-haul, regional fleet includes:

• Airbus A320
• A321NEO
• Boeing 737-800 (to be decommissioned)
• 737-MAX 8
• Embraer E190-E2

ANA's long-haul fleet is more diverse and in many ways, varied. Boeing 767-300ER, 777-200, 777-200ER, 777-300, 777-300ER, numerous 777-9X on order to replace older 777-300 and 777-300ERs, over 50 internationally-equipped 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 Dreamliners including at least two in charming Pikachu Pokémon-themed livery.

ANA uniquely operates a trio of massive Airbus A380 aircraft known collectively as "the flying Honu;" each of the three aircraft is painted a different color, blue, orange, or green, with the traditional blue-and-white rear tailfin, and a corresponding smiling turtle in the primary color, i.e. the blue A380 has the blue turtle, the orange A380 has the orange turtle, and the green A380 has the green turtle.

It should be noted that the large 787-10 aircraft are a specialized sub-fleet exclusively configured for domestic travel only, and most of the 787-10s on order are slated to replace the aging 777-300 aircraft. Many of ANA's aircraft have specialized liveries including Pokémon (focusing on Pikachu), Star Wars (C3PO and R2D2 specific), and local manga- or anime-themed paint schemes. Passengers unequivocally love them all.

Cabin Offerings

Let's examine All Nippon Airways' current cabin offerings, shall we?

New Business class

Introduced in 2009, the "Inspiration of Japan" cabin features included fully-lie-flat-bed business class seats, nearly enclosed first class suite seats, fixed shell back seats in both of its economy classes, a new AVOD in-flight entertainment system (based on Panasonic Avionics Corporation's eX2 IFE system with iPod connectivity, in-seat shopping and meal ordering as well as cabin touchscreen consoles) as well as improvements to its in-flight service. ANA will introduce a new lounge (which opened on 20 February 2010, supposed to be in coincidence with the introduction of new aircraft interiors but delayed) and check-in concept (later in autumn 2010) at Narita for first class and ANA Mileage Club's Diamond Service elite members.

As of 2018, ANA debuted "The Room" on select long-haul aircraft. Only available on 777-300ER aircraft, "The Room" is, to put it simply, All Nippon Airways' revolutionary, highly-acclaimed business-class suite. Featuring oversized 35-to-38-inch wide seats, fully closing privacy doors, and a massive 24-inch 4K screen, it rivals or exceeds many international first-class cabins though it is, frankly, overrated in my personal opinion.

Premium Economy class

Beneath business class, ANA typically offers a premium economy class, a mixture between economy and business class, with economy-style seating but with better food and drinks than economy class passengers usually receive. Though again, this varies upon your selected route and aircraft.

Economy class

Main cabin or economy class is unremarkable in all its facets and is nearly identical to nearly every other major airline's economy class offering in the world.

Thank you for learning along with us as we dove into the background of one of Japan's major carriers! Book your travel experience via a consultation at brookeintheairtravel.net!