All Nippon Airways

What is All Nippon Airways!?
All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA) (全日本空輸株式会社, Zen Nippon Kūyu Kabushiki gaisha, TYO: 9202), also known as Zennikkū (全日空), is the largest airline in Japan by revenues and passenger numbers. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations[4] and had more than 20,000 employees as of March 2016.[3] In May 2010, ANA's total passenger traffic was up year-on-year by 7.8%, and its international services grew by 22% to 2.07 million passengers in the first five months of 2010.

Early days
ANA's earliest ancestor was Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transports Company (日本ヘリコプター輸送, Nippon Herikoputā Yusō) (also known as Nippon Helicopter and Aeroplane), an airline company founded on 27 December 1952.[8] Nippon Helicopter was the source of what would later be ANA's International Air Transport Association (IATA) airline code, NH.

NH began helicopter services in February 1953. On 15 December 1953, it operated its first cargo flight between Osaka and Tokyo using a de Havilland Dove, JA5008.[8] This was the first scheduled flight flown by a Japanese pilot in postwar Japan. Passenger service on the same route began on 1 February 1954, and was upgraded to a de Havilland Heron in March.[10] In 1955, Douglas DC-3s began flying for NH as well,[8] by which time the airline's route network extended from northern Kyūshū to Sapporo. In December 1957 Nippon Helicopter changed its name to All Nippon Airways Company.[11]

ANA's other ancestor was Far East Airlines (極東航空, Kyokutō Kōkū).[12] Although it was founded on 26 December 1952, one day before Nippon Helicopter, it did not begin operations until 20 January 1954, when it began night cargo runs between Osaka and Tokyo, also using a de Havilland Dove. It adopted the DC-3 in early 1957, by which point its route network extended through southern Japan from Tokyo to Kagoshima.[10]

Far East Airlines merged with the newly named All Nippon Airways in March 1958. The combined companies had a total market capitalization of 600 million yen, and the result of the merger was Japan's largest private airline.[8] The merged airline received a new Japanese name (全日本空輸; Zen Nippon Kūyu; Japan Air Transport). The company logo of the larger NH was selected as the logo of the new combined airline, and the new carrier operated a route network combined from its two predecessors.

Fleet plans
On 31 July 2014, ANA firmed up orders for 7 Airbus A320neos, 23 Airbus A321neos, 20 Boeing 777-9Xs, 14 Boeing 787-9s and 6 Boeing 777-300ERs, to be used for its short and long-haul fleet renewal. Boeing valued ANA's order at approximately $13 billion at list prices.[96]

On 2 February 2015, ANA placed orders with Airbus and Boeing worth $2.2bn for three Boeing 787-10s, five Boeing 737-800s and seven Airbus A321s.[97]

In late July 2015, ANA entered into a secret agreement with Airbus to make additional orders in the future (number and model(s) of aircraft unidentified) in exchange for Airbus support of ANA plans to invest in bankrupt Skymark Airlines.[98]

Also in 2015, ANA placed orders for 15 Mitsubishi Regional Jets for regional flights, to be operated by ANA Wings.[99]

On 29 January 2016, ANA signed a purchase agreement with Airbus, covering firm orders for three Airbus A380s, for delivery from fiscal 2018 to operate on the Tokyo to Honolulu route.