ANA and the A380

Rumours that All Nippon Airways (ANA) is about to become an A380 operator could be true.  At the present time some 176 have been delivered out of 317 on order.   No sales in 2015.

The so-called ANA aircraft are three designated for low-cost carrier Skymark which was de-listed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March; it struggled, and ultimately failed to make its business model work against Japan’s fiercely-competitive low-cost carrier (LCC) market.  The aircraft have been built and it is assumed are part of the 10 with unidentified customers.

ANA now owns 16.5% of Skymark.  If it does take the aircraft an 800-seat passenger layout is possible.  The aircraft could fit into ANA’s domestic plans, at one time the airline flying an all-Economy 747 between Tokyo and Osaka with 550 seats.  Another possibility is the popular route to Hawaii, currently a 767 operation.  Shinya Katanozakam, the airline's President, indicated to London’s  Financial Times  that the A380 was on the radar.

Off-loading the stored aircraft is vital for Airbus, even for a trial period with potential follow-up orders.  Other carriers, particularly in China, would be watching to see if a high density A380 works.  The single class Boeing 747 Haneda – Osaka service was essentially a failure, the hassle to get on board not popular with the public.  www.ana.co.jp

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