Article from BTNews 13 MARCH 2017
ANA plans Hawaii challenge
Competition on the prime routes between Japan and Hawaii is hotting up after All Nippon Airways (ANA) said it is introducing the first of its Airbus A380 fleet on the top-selling from Tokyo – Honolulu service.
To mark the occasion, the airline has unveiled a special livery for its first aircraft featuring the Hawaiian green sea turtle, which is a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Hawaii.
ANA will be the first Japanese airline to operate the A380 when the first aircraft arrives in 2019. Parent company ANA Holdings placed a firm order in January for three of the super-jumbos.
ANA already offers three flights a day to Honolulu from the Japanese capital – two from Narita and one from Haneda. These are currently operated using the Boeing 767-300ER, with the Haneda service switching to a B787 from next month until October.
The airline is believed to be considering consolidating the Narita flights into a single daily operation once the A380 comes online in an effort to boost its share of the
lucrative Hawaiian market out of Japan.
This is currently estimated to be about 20%, significantly behind the market leader, Japan Airlines, which claims about 35%.
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