After several years of no new orders for the A380, Airbus finally got some life back into the program when they ended 2015 with an announcement that All Nippon Airways will be purchasing three A380 aircraft. I suspect ANA was somewhat strong-armed into purchasing them, given that it was likely related to Skymark’s bankruptcy. Airbus…
Continue reading: ANA Unveils Special Livery For Their First A380
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The runner up liveries look horrible, but at least the winner looks cute! Can't wait to see one
Love the turtle! It's very appropriate for the market being served with the white elephants they bought. They'll no doubt fill the plane at roughly fuel-only fares. Even business and first will have to be discounted to get butts into seats. And there is a lot of competition in the market. I suspect ANA will dump these birds the first opportunity they get.
Hey Paul,
Spent 30 years in the airline industry, half of my career in passenger marketing, with a global carrier that had both Boeing and Airbus narrow and wide body aircraft. Regardless of the plane being flown Hawaii is and always will be a low yield market. There's no escaping that simple reality.
@Gregg - but is that speaking from a US-centric view? Hawaii is still a primary leisure and wedding destination for the Japanese. Per his 2016 article, current flights between HND and HNL are running at 80-90% capacity. Shift that to larger aircraft and it probably doesn't drop significantly. The article also suggests that the outlook is more Japanese visitors to Hawaii annually.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/03/12/business/japanese-tourists-longing-hawaii-still-worth-banking/
Honolulu is an odd choice for the A380. They can fill an A380 for sure but with lower-yielding passengers. Configure the plane that way and you can't use it on high value routes like Tokyo to London. Nor is it super long-range.
The A380 is also best used on slot-constrained airports, which Haneda is but Honolulu isn't.
But I love this plane and really can't understand why there aren't more of them, Emirates aside of course. I'll choose Qantas, Singapore or British just to fly a 380 over a boring old 777. And ANA is a class act so this portends well
As a turtle lover, I think it's sweet! I wish more airlines spiced up their livery. I used to love going on the QF Dreamtime 747.
@martin - couldn't agree more re the A380. So many articles out there suggesting it has no future but for passenger comfort and experience, nothing beats it. Shame that customer preference isn't what drives business choices!
Laughing out LOUD @Miz I'm sure we all think that! Good god they are awful, but I do like what "won" (what they HAD to go with 😉 haha
HNL is my home so can't wait to fly this route when it starts up. The Green Sea Turtle was the right choice, especially compared to the runner-ups.
I do like how Stephen + Cayden used the cheatlines to form the ocean. Thought that was a nice touch.
Given the traffic Japan - HNL, and that there's a lot of weddings and Japanese like premium classes, I wouldn't call this a white elephant.
We'll see how it goes, but it's not like Australia-Bali.
And more great artwork for ANA!
A380 ANA "Flying Honu" 3D model https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/aircraft/commercial/airbus-a380-ana-flying-honu-design