All Nippon Airways (ANA) is planning to operate its Boeing 777 freighter to Los Angeles from its base at Tokyo Narita Airport, media reports said. The first flight to Los Angeles is expected to take off on April 23rd.
In this regard, Toshiaki Toyama, Executive Vice President of ANA and President of ANA Cargo told the media, “A number of factors have led to increased demand for cargo flights connecting Japan and North America…We are proud to have a fleet of capable aircraft that is able to meet the demand and support global supply chains in operation at this critical time.”
Last month, it was reported that ANA, which is one of Japan’s biggest carriers, is also planning to retire its fleet of Boeing 777s ahead of schedule. ANA said that with the early retirement of its Boeing 777s, a greater number of long-haul flights would be operated by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Currently, ANA has 50 Boeing 777s in its fleet out of which 12 are listed as parked. Last October, the carrier retired seven Boeing 777s. The carrier is looking to get its business back on track after weathering the Covid-19 crisis and has revealed that the core of its earnings for the fiscal year of 2021 would be made up of domestic operations.
Last year, it was also reported that the Japanese government is mulling merging both All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines to help the carrier survive the Covid-19 crisis. The idea to merge both carriers has come from Heizo Takenaka, a former minister and advisor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.