Good Decision Or Bad Decision? Why ANA Took 3 Airbus A380s

On March 20th 2019, Japanese flag carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) placed one of the most intriguing widebody orders of the past ten years. The airline committed to just three Airbus A380s. An aircraft with notoriously bad operating economics nearing the end of production, the order raised many eyebrows within the industry for its peculiar nature. With these factors in mind, why would ANA move ahead with ordering just 3 of these superjumbo aircraft? Well, let’s explore this topic for today’s video!

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[nurrizadjatmiko]

I think ANA made the right choice to order just 3 A380 including taking over Skymark A380 order for just one single popular route between Hawaii and Japan. Not bad

[paulyiustravelogue]

I flew on both JA381A and JA382A in business class in January of 2020, literally just before the pandemic shutdown everything. Long story short, the flights were super comfortable with great and attentive Japanese style services. Hawaiian music and sunny lighting were on in the Honolulu bound flight. Making passengers feel like they are already on vacation the moment they stepped in the cabin. For the Tokyo bound flight, business class passengers can board the plane directly from the ANA lounge.

[Kanerrrrr]

as someone who works at HNL, I love seeing these bad boys take to the skies every day. It's such a massive and astonishing aircraft.

[tomburke]

Sounds like this was a well-planned, targeted introduction, as part of a strategy to defend their offering on that specific route. I'm sure that their passengers will enjoy the A380, just as many in the UK do. I wonder, though, how ANA are servicing these aircraft? - my understanding is that having their own dedicated A380 servicing facilities which, with so many A380s in service, is efficiently used is a big part of Emirates' A380 success.

[magnustan]

ANA was one of my favourite airlines growing up and their A380 is so unique and wonderfully decorated inside and out, hence "Flying Honu" is right up there on my avgeek bucket list. Just to note, ANA ordered the jets in 2015 after Skymark entered bankruptcy protection the year prior. It wasn't by choice, but out of necessity due to competition to acquire a large part of Skymark, from Delta of all airlines.

[gijbuis]

It's a pity that the A380s are no longer being produced. It is certainly the most comfortable wide body for passengers.

[南の島に行きたいかもわからん]

Love the flying honu! It’s interesting that it gains profit with just 3 planes.

Just FYI, Skymark is not exactly a low cost carrier; I think they call themselves “middle” class carrier.
Not a “full” service carrier, but Skymark does have a seat same size as a full service carrier, rather than like a LCC with less legroom.

[aragakki]

In japan, there are so many people including kids, adults, aunties and uncles go for plane spotting in a park called Sakura no yama, which is next to the Narita airport. They always aiming for the flying Honus and which shows how iconic this aircraft is. Im happy to see this phenomenon in japan!!

[CaptainKremmen]

ANA accepted Skymark's A380 orders as part of a deal with Airbus to get Skymark's HND slots and to keep Delta out of the Japanese market. It wasn't an isolated purchase as this video portrays.

[ericng]

"For ANA, adding the A380 to its fleet would run counter to its shift toward fuel-efficient midsize jetliners. The company also could wind up with a capacity mismatch that results in higher fares. But "it was so reluctant to let another airline get Skymark's landing slots at Haneda Airport that it was willing to take those risks, " a person familiar with ANA's strategy said." (source: Nikkei Asia)

[walkrwalkr]

I’m flying to Honolulu via Tokyo …. Just wished I booked the flying honu via Narita but unfortunately I picked Haneda …. Had I known when I booked the flight … I’d love to experience being on the flying Honu …. Clever word play Flying Honu heading for Honolulu

[dshow]

If you’re in a country where airlines are using 747 domestically, im sure you can make a business case for scheduling an A380 on it for every now and then.

[sundragon]

Don't know if the strategy is a good one. But I did smile on a November flight to HNL and saw a couple of Honu parked at their gates.

[JohanNL]

Over 10 flights daily going from one of the cities to the other. That is really just insane to imagine. But i guess if you look at enough other routes you will easily crush that.

[markydaniels]

I appreciate the content of the video, but there seems to be a slight error. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Japan Airlines is the flag carrier of Japan, while ANA is another prominent airline. Just wanted to ensure accurate information. Thank you!

[TC.C]

Why would you say it could be a bad decision in the title when ANA made their 380 operation profitable?

[hanj]

This is a good move using it on one single popular. High capacity demand for that route. It's a similar situation to Korean air and Asiana having the A380's and 747-8 as well for Korean. They got them to use on their high capacity routes like LAX JFK and also for flights to their respective alliance partner's key hubs like CDG and ATL for Korean with their partners Delta and Air France and Frankfurt and BKK for Asiana with their partners in Lufthansa and Thai airways. Korean air should use the A380 for one of it's flights to HNL and move the 747-8 to one of the LAX flights.

[nagasako]

During Japan's holiday season. Tokyo Honolulu becomes most trafficked route. Basically huge air migration.

[JohanNL]

Seems like a well considered purchase. In the beginning you talked about Emirates having a big fleet so they can easily do the maintaining for it, but you didnt touch on that at all for ANA. Outside that for just this route its well considered it seems, and why not? Lots of capacity needed.

[robertlee]

It is open secret these three a380 was sold to ANA for less than costs.
People might say that would make Emirates and other operators angry, but they were all given the same offer for the remaining unsold a380s in production or ear marked for production

Why would Airbus offer these a380s below cost, because their suppliers were still making the last ordered parts.