ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) is mulling the eventual replacement of its De Havilland Aircraft of Canada turboprop fleet, according to a media report citing CEO Inoue Shinichi. However, no firm decision or timeline has been established.

An airline spokesperson confirmed to ch-aviation that comments made by the chief executive at the recent Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) assembly in Bangkok were a "general observation regarding standard fleet lifecycle management."

While the ageing DHC-8-Q400s are "naturally candidates for future renewal consideration," ANA confirmed that "nothing definitive is finalised or approved." The airline added that it has "sufficient equipment for the time being," noting seven more aircraft are set to join the fleet.

ANA's regional subsidiary, ANA Wings (EH, Sapporo Chitose), currently operates twenty-four DHC-8-Q400s on domestic routes throughout Japan. These turboprops have an average age of 17 years.

In 2023, Inoue said it began looking for replacement options for the turboprops after Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation discontinued its M90 programme. Back then, it had commitments for up to 25 of the type to partially replace its Dash 8 fleet.

A year later, ANA Holdings announced it would take seven incremental second-hand Dash 8s, with deliveries set for 2025.