Japan's ANA to use Air Japan to compete with long-haul LCCs

AirJapan schedules mid-1Q24 start

AirJapan (NQ, Tokyo Haneda) will begin revenue operations on February 9, 2024, with flights between Tokyo Narita and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. The airline is a subsidiary of ANA Holdings and will focus on medium-haul international routes.

The statement announcing the flights indicates a 324-passenger all-economy class B787-8 will operate the six days a week service. In addition to flights already offered on the route by ANA, the new low-cost carrier will take on JAL - Japan Airlines, ZIPAIR, Thai Airways International, and Thai AirAsia X on the city pair.

While frequently publicised as a start-up, Air Japan is an existing airline, albeit operating flights for ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) in aircraft painted in ANA's livery. ANA's launch of Air Japan as a standalone brand with its own aircraft is seen as a competitive response to Japan Airlines' low-cost medium-haul subsidiary, ZIPAIR. Air Japan President Hideki Mineguchi said the Bangkok flights will increase to daily in April, and around that time, additional routes will be...

ANA Wings to phase out Dash 8-400s from FY2026

Air Japan eyes mid-1Q24 launch date

Air Japan (Tokyo Haneda) has confirmed that it plans to start flying in February 2024. The subsidiary of ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) sister carrier intends to launch with flights around Southeast Asia using B787 aircraft before expanding to other airports around the continent.

The airline revealed details of its cabin amenities on March 9, 2023, saying that it would leverage ANA Holdings' experience in full service and low-cost carriers to provide a comfortable flight at affordable prices. While the announcement did not reveal specific routes, ANA Holdings President and CEO Koji Shibata has previously said that his new airline will target medium haul destinations such as Singapore Changi and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi that are six or seven hours flying time from Japan. Its shorter haul international routes, such as those to Taipei Taoyuan and Seoul Incheon, will be operated by another ANA Holdings subsidiary, Peach Aviation (MM, Osaka Kansai).

At a recent media conference, Shibata said ANA Holdings was focused on regaining...

All Nippon Airways axes M90 order, mulls fleet update plan

The CEO of ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) has formally axed the airline's order for up to twenty-five M90s after the manufacturer, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, decided to permanently shut down the SpaceJet program earlier this month. Outlining ANA Holdings' medium-term management plan on February 15, ANA Group President Koji Shibata called the outcome "disappointing" but said owing to ongoing production delays, contingency fleet plans had been put into place some time ago.

The firm order for fifteen M90s with options for ten more for ANA subsidiary ANA Wings (EH, Sapporo Chitose) dated back to 2008. As early as 2017, as scheduled deliveries failed to appear, ANA began bringing in alternative aircraft, including three DHC-8-Q400s that year and four B737-800s after that. "As a launch customer and an airline operator, it is very disappointing," said Shibata about the Mitsubishi decision.

Shibata also provided an update on aircraft orders and delivery timelines. He says it will take until around 2030 for fleet numbers to restore to pre-pandemic levels...