Skymark Airlines is the Japanese low cost carrier which hasbeen in bankruptcy since early this year.
Continue reading: Will ANA Soon Start Flying A380s?
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"ANA doesn’t have any longhaul routes with twice daily service" -- they serve JFK twice daily.
"ANA doesn’t have any longhaul routes with twice daily service"
New York/JFK: NH9 + NH1009
Chicago/ORD: NH11 + NH1011
Apparently the planes were already mostly configured for Skymark's all premium economy layout and changing to a more traditional layout was too expensive. It wouldn't surprise me to see ANA take them and then sell them cheap enough that the other airline comes out ahead after the reconfiguration costs.
this one is easy. They will fly the A 380 in the Tokyo Osaka corridor. When I lived in Japan and flew that route I used to gape at the dense 747 seating layout and the sheer traffic between those two cities.
I love A380's so I hope ANA decides to at least operate one or two. The might on-sell/lease the already fitted out versions (given it's too costly for them to reconfigure) but retain one or two of the future orders (maybe get it converted to an A380neo like Emirates have managed to poke Airbus into).
A380's generally ain't great for economy, but if in premium classes they can offer such opulent space (and my favourite, window bins!) especially for toilets (so sick of broom closet loos).
There's got to be at least one route in the ANA network where the A380 could make sense, or at least an untapped route which would suit (cause I really want an ANA A380 ride lol).
While First Square is often empty, ANA's Business between Tokyo and California is often packed. Japan is experiencing a tourist boom with the strong dollar, and they're looking forward to the Olympics. True that Tokyo=Osaka is another full route for an A380, and they also want to take Asiana's and Singapore's A380 fliers, together with other top A380 airlines. Japan has a natural "gateway" advantage from the US, and as I have told ANA several times, their 777s are too small and boring.
There are very little point of ANA to use A380, with opening of HND to international hugely is a double-edged sword (not like before only shuttle between GMP, SHA, TSA, HKG, etc). Slot constrain is relaxed, but traffic at NRT is largely soften, as HND is the much prefered airport to high yield traffic.
We saw many airlines once flew A380 to NRT are using smaller equipments, as they prefer to serve both HND and NRT (like LH, EK, AF). ANA and JAL are now in a "funny" situation for their international operations, there are limited slots available for international flights at HND. Not enough for all of their International operations in Tokyo, they have to have their capacity reluctantly placed between 2 airports. Which further decrease the need for A380, as demand and capacity are not concentated in single hub. With the increased capacity, ANA is trying to fill more seats with 6th freedom traffic, which multiple frequency on long-haul would be ideal, like CX...
As for domestic front, there are some of the world's most heavy routes, but Japan also has one of the world's best rail network, which airlines are battling firecely with. Hence most of routes has to be operated in high frequency. Even the most popular route, HND CTS, both carriers operate roughly an hourly service, only a handful of flights are operated by their current biggest aircraft 773. Hence the need for an even bigger aircraft are in great doubt.
Besides, is HND A380 ready?
It is not clear that ANA is buying 380s. Nikkei says that they made a conditional order to buy Airbus planes of some kind, and that "rumor has it" that those planes are the 380s.
They will not go on domestic routes because 380s are not allowed at HND.
Thanks Joe for clearing that up.
If some airlines is looking to dry/damp/wet lease A380, guess MH would be an ever ready candidate...
Given the size of the aircraft and some of its specialised needs in terms of air traffic separation and runway, taxiway, gate and aircraft parking requirements, this is a significant destination pool. But with almost all carriers but Emirates having placed small orders for the A380, they will likely continue to concentrate their A380 operations on a small selection of those 130 airports, especially when it is considered some long-haul routes require more than one aircraft per daily rotation.