Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380 at a special ceremony in Toulouse yesterday (20 March) becoming the 15th operator of the world’s largest passenger aircraft.
The delivery ceremony was attended by ANA Holdings president and chief executive officer (CEO), Shinya Katanozaka and hosted by Airbus CEO Tom Enders.
ANA has ordered three A380s and will operate the aircraft on the popular route between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu from 24 May . Each ANA A380 will feature a special livery depicting the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle, also known as the Honu. The livery on the first aircraft is painted in blue, while the second will be green and the third orange.
ANA’s A380 is configured in a premium layout seating 520 passengers. The upper deck features eight suites in First Class, 56 Business Class seats that convert to fully flat beds and 73 Premium Economy seats.
“We will commit all three of our Airbus A380 to the Tokyo Honolulu route with the goal of introducing a new level of luxury service to our passengers flying ANA on the number one resort route for Japanese travelers,” said ANA Holdings president and CEO, Shinya Katanozaka.
“We believe the A380 will become a game changer for ANA and will enable us to increase our market share by doubling the number of seats connecting Honolulu and Tokyo by 2020,” he added.
“The FLYING HONU is designed to offer unprecedented comfort and convenience and a world of new possibilities to ANA passengers, something that would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Airbus and Rolls-Royce teams working closely with the dedicated professionals at ANA.”
Following today’s delivery to ANA, there are currently 232 A380s in service with 15 airlines worldwide, flying on 120 routes across the globe.
