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All Nippon Airways this spring will begin offering passengers on its Tokyo-Honolulu routes a chance to fly on the world’s largest passenger plane, which has 520 seats.
The carrier, which booked an order for three Airbus A380 superjumbo two-decker aircraft in 2016, began taking reservations on the planes Jan. 10 and expects to put the first into service May 24 . The new planes, dubbed the “Flying Honu,” will replace midsize Boeing 787-9s that have more than 200 seats.
Hundreds gathered at the Hawai‘i Convention Center Wednesday night for a sneak peak at the A380s’ unique seat configurations and to hear ANA unveil its bullish plans to expand its investment and grow market share among carriers offering Narita-Tokyo service.
Jun Miyagawa, ANA’s senior vice president of sales, said Japan Airlines currently dominates the Japan-Honolulu market with a 32 percent share, while Hawaiian follows at 22 percent. However, he expects ANA’s new investment should bolster its market share in the Japan-Honolulu market.
“By 2020, our overall share would be maybe less than 30 percent, but we’d like to overcome Japan Airlines at least in our metro market,” Miyagawa said.
Plans are to “be the No. 1 supplier from the Tokyo market,” he said.
The anticipated increases are gradual. ANA currently has two flights departing from Narita to Honolulu and one flight departing from Haneda to Honolulu. The carrier expects to kick off its A380 Japan-Honolulu service with one superjumbo jet offering flights to and from Narita and Honolulu on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. It anticipates moving to 10 flights per week when a second A380 comes into service in July. By next summer, the carrier hopes to add a third A380 — which Miyagawa said, if all goes according to plan, would ramp up its Japan-Honolulu capacity from the current 600 or 700 customers daily to some 1,300 per day by 2020.
The increases should better serve the company’s mileage reward customers, who found it difficult to book their free tickets in a market where the company tends fly ifs aircraft 90 percent full. Miyagawa said that it also represents a new direction for the company, which historically has emphasized business travelers over leisure travelers.
The space on the superjumbo jets allows ANA to offer customers greater comfort, even in coach. ANA is the first Japan-based carrier to introduce couch seating in economy class. Passengers can lift up the leg rests to use the couch seats as a bed. ANA also will introduce business class “pair seats, ” which are geared to accommodating passengers that want to sit closer to each other.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said the state worked with ANA for two years to make the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport one of only seven airports in the country that can host the A380. The airline also plans to open a new lounge that will be the largest at the Honolulu airport.
“I’m really excited to be here to help All Nippon Airways launch and introduce the ‘Flying Honu’ to you,” Ige said. “I’m excited about this investment. It certainly is transformative for the state of Hawaii.”
Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO Chris Tatum expressed his gratitude to ANA and said the carrier’s investment will introduce “a new era of travel to Hawaii.”
“On behalf of the tourism industry in Hawaii, we thank you for your investment and commitment to the Hawaiian islands and tourism. We look forward to having all those customers come to Hawaii,” he said.
A380 AT A GLANCE
>> 520 seats, two decks
>> Eight first-class seats, 56 business class seats, 73 premium economy seats, 383 economy seats
>> Main deck: Economy, ANA COUCHii (couch seats)
>> Upper deck: First class, business, premium economy
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