777Fs for All Nippon, and an expanded alliance with Nippon Cargo

Japan-based All Nippon Airways (ANA) will add two 777Fs as part of its new five-year business plan that runs from now through 2022.

In an interview in the Japanese publication Aviation Wire, Shinya Katozaka, President of ANA Holdings, said the company had for several years been considering the addition of larger, longer-range freighters to complement the twelve 767-300 freighters operating in ANA’s its intra-Asia network. Mr. Katozaka added that ANA’s partnership with Lufthansa Cargo had allowed it to assess the 777F’s performance.

He did not provide a precise timetable for the acquisition of the 777Fs, but said ANA would likely operate the new freighters in trans-Pacific service, where the carrier could take advantage of a freighter “capable of transporting large cargoes such as aircraft engines and automobiles, lithium batteries and medicines.”

In addition to the new freighters, All Nippon also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand its cooperation with Japan-based all-cargo carrier Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). The two carriers currently have an interline agreement, but this will be expanded to include block space agreements and full code-sharing, with NCA gaining access to ANA’s intra-Asia freighter network and the belly space in its passenger fleet, while ANA will be able to put its code on NCA’s long-haul services to Europe and North America.

In addition to its large fleet of passenger aircraft, All Nippon Airways currently operates four 767-300Fs and eight 767-300BCFs. In addition to intra-Japan service, ANA connects Japan to Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, and many cities in mainland China, from Tokyo and Osaka, but also from its express hub in Naha, at the southern tip of the Japanese archipelago. For its part, NCA’s fleet includes eight 747-8Fs and three 747-400Fs.

Those interested in learning more about the market for widebody freighters, both new-build production models like the 777F,  and freighter conversions as well, are invited to join us at the Mandarin Oriental Pudong, 23-25 April in Shanghai for Cargo Facts Asia 2018. For more information, or to register, visit www.cargofactsasia.com