All Nippon Airways facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
All Nippon Airways
全日本空輸

Founded	27 December 1952; 72 years ago (1952-12-27) (as Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane)
Hubs	Tokyo–Haneda Tokyo–Narita
Secondary hubs	Osaka–Itami Osaka–Kansai
Focus cities	Fukuoka Nagoya–Centrair Naha Sapporo–Chitose
Frequent-flyer program	ANA Mileage Club
Alliance	Star Alliance
Subsidiaries	ANA Wings Air Japan Peach Aviation Pan Am Flight Academy
Fleet size	215
Destinations	92
Parent company	ANA Holdings Inc.
Headquarters	Shiodome City Center Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Shinya Katanozaka (Chairman) Yuji Hirako (Vice Chairman) Koji Shibata (President & CEO)
Revenue	¥1.020 trillion (2022)
Operating income	¥-29.090 billion (2022)
Net income	¥-142.239 billion (2022)
Total assets	¥3.218 trillion (2022)
Total equity	¥803.415 billion (2022)
Employees	42,196 (2022)

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (全日本空輸株式会社, Zen Nippon Kūyu Kabushiki gaisha, ANA) is a major Japanese airline. It is based in Minato, Tokyo. ANA flies to many places both inside and outside Japan. It is the biggest airline in Japan. Its main competitor is Japan Airlines. As of April 2023, about 12,800 people work for ANA. The airline became a member of the Star Alliance in October 1999.

ANA also owns several smaller airlines. These include ANA Wings for regional flights and Air Japan. ANA is also a big owner of Peach, which is a low-cost airline. In 2013, Skytrax gave ANA a 5-Star Airline rating.

History of ANA

How ANA Started

Founders of Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transports with a Bell 47D-1 helicopter.

ANA began with a company called Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transports. It was started on December 27, 1952. This company's name was the source of ANA's airline code, NH.

A Boeing 737-200 in ANA's older "Mohican Livery" from the late 1960s to 1983.

The first ANA logo was inspired by Leonardo's aerial screw. It was used until 1982 for planes and 2012 for the company.

Nippon Helicopter started flying helicopters in February 1953. On December 15, 1953, it made its first cargo flight. This flight was between Osaka and Tokyo using a de Havilland Dove plane. This was the first planned flight by a Japanese pilot after World War II. Passenger flights on this route started in February 1954. By 1955, Douglas DC-3 planes were also flying for NH. Their routes went from northern Kyūshū to Sapporo. In December 1957, Nippon Helicopter changed its name to All Nippon Airways Company.

Another airline, Far East Airlines, also joined ANA. It started on December 26, 1952. It began flying cargo at night between Osaka and Tokyo in January 1954. Far East Airlines joined All Nippon Airways in March 1958. The new combined company became Japan's largest private airline. They used the logo of the larger NH company.

Flying Across Japan

ANA grew a lot in the 1960s. They added Vickers Viscount planes in 1960 and Fokker F27 planes in 1961. In October 1961, ANA's shares were first sold on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 1963, ANA merged with Fujita Airlines.

In 1965, ANA started using its first jet plane, the Boeing 727. This was for the Tokyo-Sapporo route. They also introduced Japan's first turboprop plane, the NAMC YS-11, in 1965. In 1969, ANA began using Boeing 737 planes.

An ANA Boeing 747SR-81 at Perth Airport in the mid-1980s.

As ANA got bigger, it worked with travel companies across Japan. These companies helped with ground services. By 1974, ANA had the largest network of domestic flights in Japan.

For a long time, only Japan Airlines (JAL) was allowed to fly international scheduled flights. ANA could only do international charter flights. Its first international charter flight was a Boeing 727 from Tokyo to Hong Kong in February 1971.

Key ANA planes in the early 1990s: Boeing 747SR, Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar and Airbus A320-200.

ANA bought its first large planes, six Lockheed L-1011s, in November 1971. There was a problem with this deal. It was later found that some people involved in the deal had acted improperly. This led to a big investigation. The planes started flying on the Tokyo-Okinawa route in 1974.

Boeing 747-200 planes began flying on Tokyo-Sapporo routes in 1976. Boeing 767 planes were added in 1983. ANA's first 747s were special short-range versions. They were made for flights within Japan.

Flying Around the World

An ANA Boeing 737-500 at New Chitose Airport. A Boeing 777-200 is landing in the background.

In 1986, ANA started flying regularly to other countries. On March 3, 1986, ANA began scheduled international passenger flights from Tokyo to Guam. Flights to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. followed that year.

ANA slowly added more international flights. They flew to Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong, and Sydney in 1987. Flights to Seoul started in 1988, and to London and Saipan in 1989. In 1990, they added Paris, and in 1991, New York and Singapore. Airbus planes like the A320 and A321 joined the fleet in the early 1990s. The Boeing 747-400 also joined. ANA became part of the Star Alliance in October 1999.

In 2004, ANA made more money than JAL for the first time. That year, ANA planned to replace some of its large planes with more smaller ones. This was because new airports were being built.

Two ANA Boeing 747-400D planes at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport).

Also in 2004, ANA started a low-cost airline called Air Next. It flew from Fukuoka Airport. ANA also became the main owner of Nakanihon Airline Service (NAL). In 2005, ANA changed NAL's name to Air Central. In 2005, ANA sold its share in Nippon Cargo Airlines. This allowed ANA to focus on its own cargo business. In 2006, ANA and other companies started ANA & JP Express (AJV) for cargo flights.

An ANA Boeing 777-300ER at London Heathrow Airport in 2024. It has the "Inspiration of JAPAN" slogan.

Air Transport World named ANA its "Airline of the Year" in 2007. In 2006, ANA was known as the most on-time airline between London and Tokyo. In 2009, ANA started a new idea called "Inspiration of JAPAN". This involved new cabin designs for international flights.

In July 2011, All Nippon Airways and AirAsia created a low-cost airline called AirAsia Japan. It was based at Narita International Airport. ANA owned 51 percent of the shares. This airline stopped in October 2013. It was then renamed Vanilla Air.

In March 2018, All Nippon Airways decided to combine its two low-cost airlines, Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air. They would become one airline called Peach. On January 29, 2019, ANA Holdings bought a small part of PAL Holdings. This is the company that owns Philippine Airlines.

ANA's Main Company

ANA Holdings Inc. was created in April 2013. This was because the airline industry was changing. The new company would manage over 70 other companies. These included All Nippon Airways itself, and low-cost airlines like Peach Aviation. It also included catering and ground service companies.

ANA's Headquarters

The Shiodome City Center in Minato, Tokyo, where ANA Holdings has its main office.

All Nippon Airways has its main office at the Shiodome City Center in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

In the past, ANA's headquarters were in different places. From the 1970s to the late 1990s, it was in the Kasumigaseki Building. Before moving to its current office, ANA was at Tokyo International Airport. In 2002, ANA announced it would move to the Shiodome City Center. This building opened in 2003.

ANA Group Companies

A chart showing ANA Group Companies.

The ANA Group is a collection of companies mostly owned by ANA. Here are some of them:

• Commercial aviation
  • Air Japan
  • ANA Wings
  • Air Do (ANA is a major owner)
  • Peach (ANA is the largest owner)
  • Philippine Airlines (ANA owns 9.5% of shares)
  • Vietnam Airlines (ANA owns 8.8% of shares)
  • IFTA (a flight training school for pilots)
  • Pan Am Flight Academy
• General aviation
  • All Nippon Helicopter (works for the public TV station NHK)
• Hotels
  • IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan (ANA owns a small part)
• Companies that are no longer active
  • AirAsia Japan (joined Peach Aviation)
  • Air Hokkaido (stopped flying in 2006)
  • Allex Cargo (joined Air Japan)
  • Several airlines that joined ANA Wings in 2010: Air Nippon, Air Nippon Network, Air Next, and Air Central.

ANA Cargo Services

A Boeing 767-300BCF cargo plane from Allex Cargo.

As of May 2021, ANA had 6 cargo planes. These included 4 Boeing 767-300ER (BCF) and 2 Boeing 777F planes. ANA's cargo planes fly on 18 international routes and 6 routes within Japan. ANA has a main cargo hub at Naha Airport in Okinawa. This hub helps with overnight delivery services.

ANA also works with United Parcel Service (UPS) for cargo. They share flights to transport cargo. ANA also has a long history with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). ANA helped start NCA in 1978. In 2023, ANA announced it would buy all shares of NCA. ANA is thinking about combining ANA Cargo and NCA in the future.

Where ANA Flies

ANA has a large network of flights within Japan. It covers the whole country. ANA's international flights go to places in China, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Western Europe. Its main international hub is Narita International Airport. Haneda Airport is also becoming a big international hub. This is because it is close to downtown Tokyo.

ANA's international flights mostly focus on business travel. Its only "resort" flights are to Honolulu. ANA plans to add more resort flights in the future using its low-cost airline, Peach Aviation.

Airlines ANA Works With

All Nippon Airways has agreements with many other airlines. This means they can sell tickets on each other's flights. This is called a codeshare agreement. Here are some of the airlines ANA works with:

ANA operations at its destinations, Haneda Airport (left) and Itami Airport (right)

ANA's Planes

Current Planes

As of May 2024^[update], All Nippon Airways uses these planes:

Gallery of Current Planes

• All Nippon Airways current fleet
• 

  Airbus A320neo

• 

  Airbus A321-200

• 

  Airbus A321neo

• 

  Airbus A380-800

• 

  Boeing 737-800

• 

  Boeing 767-300ER

• 

  Boeing 777-200

• 

  Boeing 777-200ER

• 

  Boeing 777-300

• 

  Boeing 777-300ER

• 

  Boeing 787-8

• 

  Boeing 787-9

• 

  Boeing 787-10

• ANA Cargo current fleet
• 

  Boeing 767-300BCF

• 

  Boeing 767-300F

• 

  Boeing 777F

How ANA's Fleet Grew

On July 31, 2014, ANA ordered more planes. These included 7 Airbus A320neos, 23 Airbus A321neos, and 20 Boeing 777-9Xs. They also ordered 14 Boeing 787-9s and 6 Boeing 777-300ERs. These planes were to update ANA's short and long-distance flights.

On February 2, 2015, ANA ordered more planes from Airbus and Boeing. These were three Boeing 787-10s, five Boeing 737-800s, and seven Airbus A321s. On January 29, 2016, ANA ordered three Airbus A380s. These large planes were for flights from Tokyo (Narita) to Honolulu. On July 11, 2022, ANA changed 2 of its 777-9 orders to the cargo version, the 777-8F.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner

ANA was the first airline to order the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. They ordered 50 planes in April 2004. ANA later changed its order to focus on the 787-8 version.

Deliveries of the 787 finally started in late 2011. ANA received its first Boeing 787 on September 21. It was the very first Dreamliner delivered in the world. ANA flew its first Boeing 787 passenger flight on October 26, 2011. It was a special flight from Tokyo Narita to Hong Kong. ANA also became the second airline to get the Boeing 787-9 on July 28, 2014.

Old Planes ANA Used

An All Nippon Airways Boeing 747-400 and a Boeing 737-700ER at Narita Airport in 2010. Both types are now retired.

The NAMC YS-11 was an important plane for ANA. Many of them were used by ANK, a smaller airline owned by ANA. The last YS-11 stopped flying in 2006. The YS-11 was a big part of ANA's domestic flights from the 1970s to the early 1990s.

ANA flew its last Airbus A321-100 flight on February 29, 2008. This ended almost ten years of using this plane. ANA was the only Japanese airline to use the Airbus A321-100.

All Nippon Airways has used these planes in the past:

Gallery of Former Planes

• All Nippon Airways former fleet
• 

  Airbus A320-200

• 

  Airbus A321-100

• 

  Boeing 727-100

• 

  Boeing 727-200

• 

  Boeing 737-200

• 

  Boeing 737-500

• 

  Boeing 737-700

• 

  Boeing 747SR-100

• 

  Boeing 747-200B

• 

  Boeing 747-400

• 

  Boeing 747-400D

• 

  Boeing 767-200

• 

  Boeing 767-300

• 

  Fokker F27 Friendship

• 

  Fokker 50

• 

  Lockheed L-1011 Tristar

• 

  NAMC YS-11

ANA's Plane Colors

Old Colors

ANA's old "Mohican" plane colors had blue and white stripes. The tail was blue with the old ANA logo. All planes with this design have either been retired or repainted. In 2010, one Boeing 767-300 was repainted with this old design.

In 1982, ANA started using the "Triton blue" colors. This design had a white and gray body. A blue stripe was painted under the windows. The tail was blue with the word ANA painted sideways. Later, after joining Star Alliance, the Japanese and English names of ANA were replaced with the ANA logo.

Current Colors

Today, ANA still uses the "Triton blue" design. But it has been updated since 2010. The Japanese flag is now near the ANA logo above the windows. The slogan "Inspiration of Japan" was also added.

Special Plane Colors

Many ANA planes have had special paint designs over the years:

• Seven planes have Star Alliance colors.
• Twelve planes have Pokémon themes.
• Four planes have Star Wars themes. These include an R2-D2 plane and a BB-8 plane.
• Three Airbus A380-800s have ANA Flying Honu designs. Honu means 'sea turtle' in Hawaiian.
• Six planes have Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba themes.
• Two Boeing 787s and one De Havilland Canada DHC-8 400 have ANA Future Promise paint. This promotes flying in a way that helps the environment.

• 

  Airbus A321-100 in Landscape of Japan livery

• 

  Airbus A380-800 in Flying Honu livery

• 

  Boeing 737-700 in Gold Jet livery

• 

  Boeing 737-800 in Star Alliance livery

• 

  Boeing 737-800 in Tohoku Flower Jet livery

• 

  Boeing 747-400 in special Pokémon (Hoenn) livery

• 

  Boeing 747-400 in special Yellow Pokémon (Hoenn) livery

• 

  Boeing 747-400D in Marine Jumbo livery

• 

  Boeing 767-300 in Star Alliance livery

• 

  Boeing 747-400D in Pokémon Pocket Monsters livery

• 

  Boeing 767-300 in Marine Jumbo Jr livery

• 

  Boeing 767-300 in Yume Jet You & Me livery

• 

  ANA Boeing 767-300ER in panda livery

• 

  Boeing 767-300 in Retro livery

• 

  Boeing 767-300ER in Star Wars livery

• 

  Boeing 767-300ER in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba livery

• 

  Boeing 777-200 in 777 livery

• 

  ANA Boeing 777-200 in Star Alliance livery

• 

  Boeing 777-200ER in The New Tokyo 2020 livery

• 

  Boeing 777-200ER in Star Wars C-3PO livery

• 

  Boeing 777-200ER in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba livery

• 

  Boeing 777-300 in "Wind" livery

• 

  Boeing 777-300 in special Pokémon (Unova) livery

• 

  Boeing 777-300ER in Star Wars BB-8 livery

• 

  Boeing 777-300ER in Pokémon (Eevee) Livery

• 

  Boeing 787-8 in special 787 launch livery

• 

  Boeing 787-8 in special 787 launch livery

• 

  Boeing 787-8 in Future Promise livery

• 

  Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in Star Wars R2-D2 livery

• 

  Boeing 787-9 in Star Alliance livery

• 

  Boeing 787-9 in Pokémon Livery

ANA's Services

New Cabin Design

ANA "Inspiration of Japan" first class on a 777-300ER.

In 2009, ANA introduced its "Inspiration of Japan" cabin design. This included business class seats that could lie completely flat. First class seats were almost like small rooms. Economy class seats had fixed backs. There was also a new entertainment system on the plane. It allowed passengers to watch movies and order food.

The economy class on an older ANA "Inspiration of Japan" 787 Dreamliner.

This new design was supposed to start on February 20, 2010. It was for the Tokyo-New York route. But there were delays with new premium economy seats. So, the launch was moved to April 19.

The "Inspiration of Japan" design has been added to ANA's existing 777-300ER planes. These planes fly on all routes to North America. Parts of this design might also be added to other planes.

Since February 2010, ANA has offered women's-only restrooms on international flights. The first Boeing 787 planes ANA received had bidets in both economy and business class restrooms.

Inflight Magazine

ANA's magazine on the plane is called Wingspan. You can read it on board. You can also download it for free on Apple's iPad. The iPad version is called Virtual Airport. It has content from Wingspan and links for booking flights.

See Also

In Spanish: All Nippon Airways para niños

• Aviation
• Air transport in Japan
• List of airports in Japan
• List of Japanese companies
• Transport in Japan
• Yokohama Flügels, former football club
• Oriental Land Company (0.18%)