ANA, NCA target trans-Pac capacity balance one year after merger

Japan-based All Nippon Airways and Nippon Cargo Airlines are targeting a nearly 1:1 capacity ratio in the intra-Asia and trans-Pacific freighter markets by fiscal year 2030. All Nippon Airways (ANA) faced a network imbalance prior to its acquisition of Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), with freighter capacity on Japan-North America lanes falling short compared to those connecting the rest of Asia with Japan, Yasunari Morishita of the public relations department at NCA told Cargo Facts. [caption id="attachment_57298795" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] NCA became part of the ANA group in August 2025. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] The carriers are addressing the supply gap by integrating ANA’s strength on Asian routes with NCA’s strength on North American routes, capturing demand between Asia and North America, Morishita added. ANA and NCA aim to expand their available tonne-kilometers by a factor of 1.3 in FY2030, which starts April 1, 2030, over FY2025, Minori Kinoue of the general affairs department at ANA Cargo told Cargo Facts. The carriers will target trans-Pacific capacity on high-demand routes to rebalance the current 2:1 capacity ratio between the intra-Asia market and the North American market to a ratio of 1.3:1 by 2030, Kinoue said. ANA acquired NCA on Aug. 1, 2025 and in March this year announced that it will begin integrating the cargo businesses. NCA continues to operate under its own AOC. The combined fleet of the two carriers includes: Four production 767-300Fs and two 767-300BCFs operated by ANA; Two 777Fs operated by ANA; and Eight 747-8Fs operated by NCA. Two 777-8Fs on order from Boeing will join ANA’s fleet in or after its fiscal 2028, Kinoue confirmed. Trans-Pac demand E-commerce, electronic components, automotive, semiconductor components and pharmaceuticals drive demand from Southeast Asia to North America, Kinoue said. Demand has been stable since the beginning of the fiscal year, Kinoue added, with a bump in large-volume shipments of pharmaceuticals from Japan during June driven by inventory adjustments ahead of peak summer season. The United States in July 2025 imposed a 15% tariff on most imports from Japan, including automotive parts, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. In response, Japan committed to an expedited increase in the purchase of U.S. rice, in addition to $8 billion in annual purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, $7 billion in annual purchases of U.S. energy and an easing of regulations for U.S. safety-certified vehicles, according to a July 22, 2025, joint statement from the U.S. and Japan. Since July, ANA has seen a noticeable increase in last-minute shipments of automotive parts from Japan, the ANA spokesperson said. The merger allows the carriers to draw on the each other’s expertise — NCA in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and ANA in pharmaceuticals — to capture cargo demand that neither could secure alone, NCA’s Morishita said. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register by Sept. 4 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

ANA, NCA target trans-Pac capacity balance one year after merger

Two 777-8Fs to enter service from FY2028

Suparna launches Jiaxing’s 1st North American freighter flight

Related Posts

Mister Air to be Romania’s first 757 freighter operator

GlobalX confident in A321Fs after ending agreement with Ascent Global Logistics

Titan’s Harrington joins Cargo Facts Symposium 2026

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password