StarFlyer has announced in a statement that it has signed a lease-agreement with All Nippon Airways for the lease of A320neos. The airlines have agreed about a firm deal for three A320neos, with options on another two.
Delivery of the three firm lease A320neos is planned for October 2026, November 2027, and February 2028. The two options can be delivered, once finalised, in February 2027 and 2028. The five aircraft are coming from ANA's current open orders for thirteen A320neos it has with Airbus.
In November 2020, StarFlyer signed a lease-agreement with SMBC Aviation Capital for three A320neos, with an option on one more. With this latest ANA-deal, StarFlyer's A320neo can grow up to nine aircraft. Today, the airline is operating a single A320neo, next to ten A320s.
On 15 October, Airbus delivered the final A380 from Toulouse. The aircraft, JA383A (266) is also the third and last A380 for All Nippon Airways and features the Orange Turtle-livery.
Airbus has two more A380s to be delivered. These two, A6-EVR (271) and A6-EVS (272) will be delivered to Emirates from Hamburg-Finkenwerder and are expected to be handed over in the coming months.
Japan’s only A380 operator and one of the last customers of the type, ANA, has accepted its third and final superjumbo. The single A380 was marked as ‘delivered’ by Airbus despite not actually flying to its ultimate home at Tokyo Narita International Airport. Here’s what we know so far about the orange ‘flying honu’ A380.
The aircraft operated its ‘customer acceptance flight’ on October 21st and had an engine run and taxi check on the 28th. However, no activity has been logged since. Photo: Airbus
Delivered…?
Check Airbus’ public orders and deliveries information on its website, and you’ll see that its October 2020 spreadsheet displays one A380 delivered to ANA (All Nippon Airways) on October 30th. In a dramatic twist, how you might define delivery is, apparently, open to interpretation…
With the knowledge that this final A380 has test registration F-WWAL and Japanese registration JA383A, we checked our main sources for flight information: FlightRadar24.com and AIB Family Flights. However, both of these reliable sources of information displayed no recent flight data for the big orange A380. So what exactly is going on here?
Physical delivery will be delayed
It seems, in this case, the aircraft is likely technically delivered – with paperwork completed and ownership transferred. But delivery, in this case, will be void of the standard delivery flight to the airline’s home base.
As we reported in late October through reporting from the Japanese language Aviation Wire, ANA won’t take its final Airbus A380 for another year. Indeed, the aircraft’s delivery had already been delayed by half a year to October.
Delaying the delivery of this Airbus A380 makes sense from a practical point of view. ANA already has two Airbus A380 aircraft- and like most A380s around the world, both are now grounded due to the current situation, taking up space and resources without generating a single dollar of revenue. Therefore, it generally wouldn’t make sense to take delivery of a new aircraft only to park it straight away.
If the reports of the year-long delivery deferral are true, then it looks like the A380 will be staying somewhere in Europe. The big question is whether it will be housed at Airbus’ facilities in Toulouse, or if it will go somewhere else – perhaps a location that is purpose-built for long-term storage. Teruel in Spain and Tarbes in France are two possibilities. We’ll just have to keep an eye on JA383A to see where it will spend its winter months (and much of 2021).
Japanese carrier ANA (All Nippon Airways) is conducting another test flight to keep its stunning A380s current. However, this time it will be offering to take passengers on a tour which they promise will make them ‘feel Hawaii,’ even if they can’t go there yet.
A flight to nowhere on the Flying Honu
ANA’s beautifully liveried A380s haven’t seen much action this year. Specifically used for flights from Japan to Hawaii, the two A380s were grounded in March as Hawaii closed its borders. With borders planned to stay shut until at least the end of August, it looked like the giant jumbos were destined to spend most of the summer on the ground.
Of course, parking an A380 for an extended period of time is not a simple as all that. Stress on the landing gear means it is necessary to jack it up every 90 days and rotate the gears. To avoid this, ANA has been undertaking occasional maintenance flights to keep the A380s in good shape.
The emerald green Flying Honu took to the skies at the end of last month, meaning it should be OK to rest on the ground until September. However, it seems that the time has rolled around for the original blue A380 to do its maintenance flight. This time, however, ANA plans to carry passengers on this flight to nowhere.
Details of the flight
ANA’s special charter flight will take place on August 22nd, departing from Tokyo’s Narita Airport. Passengers will check in from 11:00 that morning and will board the A380 at around 14:00.
The flight will last around 90 minutes, during which time passengers will be treated to a sightseeing tour over Japan. To help passengers feel Hawaii, they’ll be given a number of special treats while onboard.
For those flying in economy, unique souvenirs will be presented, including a boarding certificate, a HONU rucksack, and an exclusive ‘Eco Set’ of bamboo cutlery and luggage tags. In premium economy, a specially designed Eco Bag will be handed out too.
Up in business class, every passenger will be given a Fred Seagull amenity kit and a thermo mug complete with ANA Hawaii branding. In first, passengers will get a Globe Trotter amenity kit as well as an ANA Hawaii hydro flask. All premium passengers will also get a travel voucher for future ANA flights worth 5,000 yen (about $50).
Every passenger will also be awarded 380 miles for the ANA Mileage Club. Those who arrive in Hawaiian shirts will get a Flying Honu airplane balloon! The flight will feature the usual ANA hospitality, including a drinks service, but no food.
Booking opens today
The flight, unfortunately, is not free of charge. Ticket prices range from 14,000 yen ($130) for the cheapest economy class seats up to 50,000 yen ($500) for first class. Bookings opened at 12:00 local time today and will be open for application until Monday, July 27th, at 09:00.
ANA anticipates high demand for this flight and has, therefore, said it will allocate tickets on a lottery basis. This means tickets do not to be paid for at the time of booking but will need to be funded as soon as the flight is awarded.
While the joyride is a bit of a gimmick for its passengers, the flight to keep the aircraft current is a positive sign. Undoubtedly, as soon as Hawaii opens up again, ANA will be back in the skies with its ‘flying sea turtles’ taking happy holidaymakers to the island state.
Toulouse, France - The Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) pushed back the delivery of its third Airbus A380 aircraft due to the ongoing global crisis.
ANA had ordered three Airbus A380s. All of them are finished and two of them already joined the long-haul fleet of All Nippon Airways.
On Marck 27, ANA's third A380 took off from the Airbus facilities in Hamburg-Finkenwerder for a test flight of almost one and a half hours.
ANA planned to receive the third A380 in April, with commercial flights due to begin in May. But the airline has suspended the connection to Hawaii, part of its decision to cut 85% of international flights in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
"The Japanese airline industry as a whole could lose about 2 trillion yen ($18.6 billion) in revenue,"
an ANA executive said.
Parent company ANA Holdings ordered three Airbus A380 airliners in 2016. The first two planes entered service last year, ferrying passengers to Honolulu.
Likened to a flying hotel, the 520-seat A380 doubles the carrying capacity of ANA's existing jets. ANA aims to use the three double-decker planes to cut into rival Japan Airlines' high market share in flights to Hawaii.
Third Airbus A380 of ANA appears out of painting shop in Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany - The third and final Airbus A380 for All Nippon Airways rolled out the painting shop at the manufacturer's Hamburg plant.
The third superjumbo is featuring Hawaii's well-known sea turtle "Honu" just like the other two A380 delivered to the Japanese carrier last year.
The first two aircraft were painted blue and green respectively. The third copy has an orange sea turtle on the hull.
ANA offers its Superjumbos with 520 seats in a four-class configuration - eight in First Class, 56 in Business Class, 73 in Premium Economy and 383 in Economy Class. The planes serve exclusively on the route between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu in Hawaii, a popular destination for Japanese tourists.
All Nippon Airways is the fourteenth and last customer for the Airbus' iconic superjumbo. Airbus will cease the production of the aircraft in 2021 due to the lack of demand from customers.
The last Airbus A380 will be delivered to the Gulf-based operator Emirates in 2021. Emirates is the largest operator of the double-decker plane (115 copies) in the world.
Few airlines other than Emirates embraced Airbus' superjumbo. Singapore Airlines and Air France are other well-known operators of the aircraft, but they already began the phase-out their A380s in the fleet.
Some were returned to the lessors and some went directly to the storages where they were dismantled for the second-hand spare part market.
Not a single North American carrier ordered or operated the aircraft. The operating cost of the A380 is higher than the other long-haul aircraft in service. It makes money when it’s full, but empty seats make it very expensive to operate on daily routes.
There aren’t many routes in the world that can maintain that level of traffic year-round.
MIAMI — Just two weeks after coming out of the final assembly line in Toulouse, All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) first Airbus A380 has taken off on its maiden flight, later landing at the manufacturer’s factory in Hamburg.
This is the first of three A380s that ANA ordered in 2016, with the carrier now becoming the first ever operator of the type in Japan.
The plane will continue to undergo flight testing before it will be delivered in early 2019.
Photo: Clement Alloing
The airline has already confirmed that the A380 will be operated on the popular Tokyo – Honolulu route.
SPECIAL HAWAIIAN LIVERIES
The three A380s will be painted in special Hawaiian-themed liveries, known as ‘Flying Honu.’ These will feature three sea turtles, each with a different meaning and character name.
The blue character will be called ‘Lani’ meaning sky; the emerald green will be called ‘Kai’ meaning ocean; and the orange livery will be named ‘Lā’ from the Hawaiian word meaning sun.
The company has already announced that the A380s will continue to work alongside the current flights operated to Hawaii, announcing plans to increase the number of flights to the islands from seven to 14.
The Airbus A380 will be configured in a four-class cabin design, with 383 economy class seats, 73 premium economy, 56 business class seats and eight closed first class suites.
ANA has also added a new family-friendly multi-purpose room behind the main deck— a room where families can tend to their babies during the flight if need be.
The plane will also offer passengers, for the first time in Japan, the couch seat concept.
Photo: Airbus
The couch is a concept where three or four seats are joined together, featuring fold-up footrests which will allow passengers to lie across them.
ANA has also confirmed that it will provide mattresses for further comfort.
To add to the passenger experience, the airline will be setting the lighting in the cabin to match the colors of Hawaii giving a relaxing feeling the moment they board.
ANA will become the 14th airline to operate the superjumbo. The European manufacturer has delivered 229 A380s since it entered service back in 2007.
It is unclear yet on how successful the A380 will be in the Japanese market, but as ANA continues to struggle with the engine issues on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the news that its first A380 is on its way to being delivered, is certainly positive news for the Japanese carrier.
ANA Holdings has firmed up an order for seven more A321 aircraft (four A321ceo with Sharklets and three A321neo), following the previous announcement in January this year. This firm order brings ANA’s total order for the A320 Family to 37 aircraft (26 A321neo, four A321ceo with Sharklet, and seven A320neo).
ANA Group will be the first Japanese carrier to operate three variants of the A320 Family, the A321neo, the A321ceo and the A320neo. With an optimised use of cabin space called ‘Cabin-Flex’, the A321neo will typically seat up to 240 passengers while maintaining Airbus’ standard comfort standard of at least 18 inch wide seats. The A321ceo will seat up to 220, and the A320neo up to 180 people.
“We are honoured that such a prestigious airline as Japan’s ANA Group has decided to expand its Airbus fleet by firming up this commitment,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers. “By selecting our single-aisle aircraft, ANA Group will benefit from unbeatable fuel efficiency and excellent cabin comfort for its demanding customers.”
The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with more than 11,500 orders to date and nearly 6,400 aircraft delivered to 400 customers and operators worldwide. Thanks to its widest cabin, all members of the A320 Family offer the industry’s best level of comfort in all classes and Airbus’ 18” wide seats in economy as standard. The newest member of the A320 Family, the A320neo, incorporates new generation engines and Sharklet wing tip devices which together deliver more than 15 percent in fuel savings from day one and 20 percent by 2020. Firm orders for the NEO have reached over 3,600 aircraft from 70 customers.
The first A320neo successfully took its maiden flight in September 2014 and is now undergoing an extensive flight test campaign.
![Airbus A380-800 [F-WWSH / JA381A]](https://www.skyliner-aviation.de/photos/JA381A.jpg)
