ANA's inspirational story

Careful people will notice that ANA's flight code is NH. This is because ANA started out as a private helicopter company.

Start-up period

The history of All Nippon Airways (ANA) can be traced back to the private Japanese helicopter company established on December 27, 1952. The original name was "Japan Helicopter Company" (flight number NH is short for Nippon Helicopter).

The company has only two Bell 47 helicopters, which carry out operations such as pesticide spreading.

Helicopter operations began in February 1953, and cargo routes between Osaka and Tokyo began on December 15, 1953. Passenger service on the same line began on February 1, 1954. In 1955, the company's network was expanded, and routes between Kitakyushu and Sapporo were opened and Douglas DC-3 aircraft were introduced into service.ANA introduced six Lockheed L-1011s in November 1972, its first wide-body aircraft, and began serving the Tokyo-Okinawa route in 1974. ANA originally preferred to buy McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft, but finally decided to introduce Lockheed's L-1011.After the Japanese government decided to allow more competition to expand Japan's overseas tourism market, ANA made its maiden flight from Tokyo to Guam on March 3, 1986, and launched regular international services. Los Angeles and Washington also opened at the end of the year. All Nippon Airways has also reached an agreement with American Airlines to open the route between the United States and Narita. All Nippon Airways has entered a new era.

In the 1980s, ANA opened up a large number of international routes. In the 1990s, ANA continued to expand its business to Asia, North America, and Europe.

ANA shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1991. In 1995, the ANA fleet introduced the Boeing 777, and Airbus passenger aircraft began to join the ANA fleet, such as the A320.

All Nippon Airways has gradually expanded its international services: in 1987, routes to Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong and Sydney were launched; routes to Seoul, London, Saipan, Paris and New York were also launched year by year. In the 1990s, Airbus A320, A321 and Boeing 747 began to join the fleet.

The new company will be independently operated by All Nippon Airways and will not use the brand and code of All Nippon Airways. It will be based at Osaka Kansai International Airport and gradually expand international and domestic short-haul routes in Japan.

Pop Culture

1. Some ANA planes have the theme of "Pokémon". However, as of 2014, all Pokémon series planes have been repainted or retired.

2. All Nippon Airways sponsored the movie "Happy Flight", which mainly revolves around the co-pilots and flight attendants of the ANA flight to Hawaii.

3. ANA sponsors the Japanese TV series "Good Luck!", about a group of airline crew members. The series stars Takuya Kimura, Shinichi Tsutsuki and Kosaki.

Affairs in China

The second president of ANA, Mr. Kaheita Okazaki, is well known to both China and Japan for his efforts to restore diplomatic relations between China and Japan. This hero played an important role in the diplomatic relations between China and Japan, so he was highly praised by Premier Zhou Enlai, and was praised by Premier Zhou as "the well-digger of Japan-China friendship".

All Nippon Airways carried a charter flight to Shanghai in August 1972, and in September of the same year, carried a charter flight to Beijing for the Japanese Prime Minister's accompanying press corps. All Nippon Airways is the first Japanese airline that opened regular flights between China and Japan in 1987 after Japan Airlines (JAL). In 2002, ANA began to provide regular all-cargo service between Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin and Tokyo.

All Nippon Airways, Air China and Shanghai Airlines began operating code-share flights in 2004. As of 2008, 17 routes including Hong Kong have been opened between China and Japan, with 126 flights per week.

In July 2007, ANA launched a specially painted "Flying Panda" passenger plane to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the company's China route. The cutlery, seats, pillows and flight attendant costumes in the plane are printed with cute panda patterns. All Nippon Airways collected the nickname of the passenger plane from preschool children across Japan, and finally named it "Flying Panda".

Accept the Japanese government plane service

All Nippon Airways is headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Shiodome area

Maintenance work has been commissioned by Japan Airlines (JAL) since the introduction of two Boeing 747-400 aircraft as government-only aircraft in 1992. Introduce the Boeing 777-300ER as a dedicated next-generation government aircraft after 2019. JAL's aircraft maintenance service has ceased and it will be handled by All Nippon Airways.

Now ANA is No. 1 in Japan in both domestic and international routes. It must be said that it is an inspirational story of a small private company's successful counterattack.