THE JAPAN NEWS

 

By Mitsuhiko Totsuka / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
All Nippon Airways — which marked on Thursday 30 years since it launched regular international flights — is expected to surpass Japan Airlines in terms of overseas flight passenger numbers for fiscal 2015.

ANA has been in good shape due to efforts to improve its in-flight services, but the firm had to struggle hard for several years after launching its first international flight in 1986. To maintain steady business growth, ANA will have to prepare for the risk of a sharp drop in the number of passengers due to disasters and terrorism by carefully controlling staff, mechanical equipment and materials.

“What an effort we’ve made so far without being discouraged,” ANA President Osamu Shinobe said during an event held at Narita Airport to mark the 30th anniversary.

Before 1986, the government granted JAL a monopoly on international flight services. A partial change in government policy finally allowed ANA to launch its first international flight service, linking Narita and Guam, something that had been a long-held ambition for ANA since it was established in 1952.

However, ANA struggled initially because its unfamiliarity with international flights brought low ratings for service. “I got told off by passengers because we didn’t provide salad dressing for in-flight meals,” a former ANA flight attendant said.

The company reached a turning point in 1999 when it joined Star Alliance, a global airline alliance. After acquiring various expertise from Lufthansa of Germany and United Airlines of the United States, ANA learned how to improve its service.
 

ANA has now received the top rating four years in a row from a British company that assesses the airline industry. It is the only Japanese airline to receive this rating.

Following the government policy change that allowed JAL and ANA to aggressively compete in the internal flight market, ANA’s international flight business finally entered the black in fiscal 2004. Its international network has expanded to 59 routes covering 39 cities.

The number of ANA international flight passengers for fiscal 2015 is expected to reach 8.2 million, surpassing JAL’s 8.09 million.
ANA plans to further expand its international flights. In addition to routes to Houston and three other overseas cities that went into service in fiscal 2015, the airline will newly open routes to Wuhan, China, Phnom Penh and Mexico City in fiscal 2016.

Sales of ANA’s international flights in fiscal 2015 are expected to be ¥517 billion, equivalent to less than 80 percent of its domestic flight sales. The airline aims to increase overseas flight sales by 50 percent by fiscal 2025 so it can profit from them more than domestic flights.

The airline will also increase the number of airplanes to be used from 258 at the end of fiscal 2015 to about 300 at the end of fiscal 2020. The firm will hire about more 800 cabin attendants in fiscal 2016 and about 700 in fiscal 2017.

International flight sales have been affected greatly by the ups and downs of overseas travel demand due to a series of factors including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Given the circumstances, ANA needs to ensure adequate equipment and manpower management in preparation for possible risks.

How JAL will counter, meanwhile, has become a focus of attention. JAL filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and drastically cut its international flight routes. Having been rehabilitated through public support, the airline is restricted by the government from opening new routes until the end of fiscal 2016.

JAL is expected to launch new routes as soon as it becomes free to do so in fiscal 2017, which is likely to lead to fierce competition.