Airbus A380 for All Nippon Airways

Japan’s first customer for the Airbus A380, All Nippon Airways (ANA), saw the first of the three it has ordered, make its debut at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse recently as the aircraft left the final assembly plant for the next stage in construction. With the ANA logo already in place on the tail plane, the aircraft was moved to an outdoor station for structural completion, engine installation and cockpit furnishing, plus system testing for electric and hydraulic power and air conditioning.

ANA’s Airbus A380 is scheduled for delivery early next year and is configured with eight seats in First Class, 56 in Business, 73 Premium Economy and 383 Economy. The Economy cabin total includes 60 couch seats. The first aircraft will initially be operated on the Tokyo – Honolulu route, where ANA says it will help to meet growth and overcome capacity constraints at Tokyo airports. The carrier is also expected to take delivery at about the same time the first of three Boeing B787-10 airliners it ordered in March 2015, nine months before the Airbus order. ANA is retiring three B777-200, six B767-300s seven B737-500 and four other aircraft during this financial year while adding 25 aircraft to the fleet over the next ten months.