ANA was the last – 14th – airline to have added the Airbus A380 to its fleet directly from Airbus. Having ordered just three airframes, ANA was also the smallest customer for the A380. In fact, it ordered the aircraft for use on just a single route.
Continue reading to see what the current status of the three A380s ANA received is, what their seat configuration is, as well as what route – and how often – it flies.
ANA A380 Routes
When ANA ordered the A380s, it was clear that they would be dedicated to the Tokyo Narita – Honolulu route.
As such, it’s no surprise that currently, the only route that the A380 is operating regularly is the same “resort” route. More specifically, until March 5, 2023, the A380 is scheduled to operate all five weekly ANA flights from Tokyo Narita to Honolulu (NH184/NH183). The flights depart Narita airport each Wednesday through Sunday.
Starting from March 6, 2023, flights NH184/183 are scheduled to operate daily. That said, the A380 will only fly the route three times a week – on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The remaining flights are scheduled to be operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft until April 19, 2023, after which the A380 will be deployed on the rotation daily until the end of the year.
The A380 is scheduled to appear on the Tokyo Narita – Honolulu route even more frequently from July 21, 2023, when ANA will add a second daily rotation (NH182/NH181). The A380 will operate the flights on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for a total of 10 weekly appearances in Honolulu. As for the remaining NH182/NH181 flights, those will be operated by Boeing 787-9.
Between September 2, 2023, and October 29, 2023, flights NH182/NH181 will only operate three times a week – the non-A380 rotations will be cut from the schedule. From October 30, 2023, the route will return to being operated twice a day with 10 weekly A380 rotations and four weekly 787-9 rotations.
While on a regular basis, Honolulu is the only destination that ANA’s A380s appear on, during the pandemic when the demand was low, ANA used its A380s for other purposes too. It operated joyrides from major airports in Japan like Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai and it even operated some point-to-point domestic charter flights like Tokyo Narita to Sapporo.
Additionally, ANA also used the aircraft as “restaurants” where participants had a chance to enjoy a meal onboard the aircraft while sitting on the ground at Tokyo Narita airport.
I took one of the joyrides out of Narita which was a lot of fun; I covered the experience in detail here.
ANA A380 Fleet
ANA received just three A380s from Airbus making it the smallest customer for the type. The first two – JA381A (MSN 262, delivered in 2019) and JA382A (MSN 263, delivered in 2019) – were delivered in 2019. The last one – JA383A (MSN 266, delivered in 2021) – was delivered in 2021.
With the aircraft being dedicated to the Honolulu route, the airline decided to paint all three in special turtle-themed “Flying Honu” liveries. The first one, named “Lani” meaning “sky” in Hawaiian was painted blue. The second one, named “Kai” meaning “ocean” in Hawaiian was painted emerald green. The third one, named “Ka La” meaning “sunset” in Hawaiian was painted orange.
Currently, the first two A380s – JA381A and JA382A – are active. The third A380 – JA383A – is in the process of being reactivated.
ANA A380 Seat Configuration
All three ANA A380s are equipped with a total of 520 seats in four classes.
The entire main deck is taken up by 383 economy class seats in a 3-4-3 layout. The upped deck includes 8 first class suites in a 1-2-1 layout, 56 staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, and 73 premium economy class seats in a 2-3-2 layout.
While there is nothing particularly worth mentioning about the premium cabins, there is one thing that makes the aircraft’s economy class relatively unique. The last six rows are what ANA calls “ANA COUCHii” seats. They have a cushion that can be folded up to turn each row of economy class seats into a flat surface for sleeping or relaxing.
ANA A380 Retirement Plans
At this point, there are no specific ANA A380 retirement plans.
With ANA’s A380s being some of the youngest ones out there and the airline having found some unique uses for the aircraft during the pandemic and now deploying it on the Honolulu route again, ANA A380s are likely to remain in the airline’s fleet for years to come.
Summary
ANA has just three A380s in its fleet of which two are currently active. Sticking with its original plans, the aircraft is being used solely on the Tokyo Narita – Honolulu route. While currently, the aircraft only flies to Hawaii five times a week, later in the year the A380s will operate to Honolulu up to ten times a week.
Since the airline has no specific plans to retire the A380 and the three airframes it owns are still just a couple of years old, it is likely that we will see ANA’s A380s in the skies for at least the next decade if not two.
To see what other airlines operate the A380, check this article.
1 thought on “ANA A380s in 2023: Routes, Fleet & Retirement Plans”
I have flown on the A380 several times between NRT and HNL. I have loved it, every time. The flight was so smooth, that I didn’t even know we took off, or landed. I have been waiting for the orange A380, but have never seen it flying.