The Dominican

ANA to `Grab Back' Japan Travelers on Haneda Airport, Accord With United
By Chris Cooper and Kiyotaka Matsuda - Oct 15, 2010 1:00 AM ET
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Shinichiro Ito, president of All Nippon Airways (ANA) Co., poses with a miniature model of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner following an interview at the airline's headquarters in Tokyo. Photographer: Robert Gilhooly/Bloomberg

All Nippon Airways Co. plans to “grab back” international travelers from Asian rivals by adding overseas flights at its Tokyo Haneda Airport hub and boosting cooperation with United Continental Holdings Inc.

The opening of an international terminal at Haneda next week will enable ANA to offer easier connections between overseas and domestic flights, President Shinichiro Ito said. Presently, the carrier’s and Japan Airlines Corp.’s domestic and international hubs are in different Tokyo airports almost two hours apart by train, which handicaps them when competing against Korean Air Lines Co.

“We aim to grab back passengers from Incheon,” South Korea’s biggest airport and Korean Air’s base, Ito said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. The Haneda terminal is “something we’ve been eagerly awaiting.”

ANA plans to boost overseas flights 15 percent in the year ending March helped by the Haneda development and an agreement to cooperate on transpacific routes with United, the world’s largest carrier. The Tokyo-based airline, the maiden customer for Boeing Co.’s 787, is pushing ahead with the expansion even after the planemaker delayed delivery of the first Dreamliner into 2011.

“Expanding international flights is a good chance for ANA to keep growing,” said Ryota Himeno, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., who has a “buy” rating on the stock. “Domestic growth has reached its limit.”

Haneda Flights

Haneda airport will begin handling flights to Europe and the mainland U.S. this month for the first time since 1978, when overseas services were moved to Narita, an hour’s train ride from Tokyo’s financial district.

Narita has missed out on surging travel growth in Asia, with passenger numbers dropping 6.7 percent to 32.2 million over the past five years. By contrast, the number of travelers using Seoul’s Incheon airport has jumped 18 percent to 28.5 million. The airport has helped link smaller cities in Japan with the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“We are monitoring developments at Haneda and will take necessary steps if and when the need arises,” said Kim Gi Min, a spokesman for Incheon International Airport. Seoul-based Korean Air is “monitoring the situation,” it said in an e- mailed response to Bloomberg News questions.

ANA, which expects to return to profit this fiscal year, rose 2.1 percent to 297 yen yesterday in Tokyo trading. It has gained 18 percent this year compared with a 9 percent slump for the Nikkei 225 Stock Average. Korean Air has jumped 33 percent in Seoul.

United Accord

ANA won antitrust immunity to cooperate with United and Continental, which merged this month, alongside a Japan-U.S. agreement liberalizing travel between the two countries. The ‘open skies’ deal will come into effect on Oct. 25, Japan’s Transport Minister Sumio Mabuchi said in parliament yesterday.

The cooperation will boost ANA’s network “significantly,” Ito said. Japan Air has agreed a similar tie-up with AMR Corp.’s American Airlines.

Ito declined to say how much financial benefit ANA may derive from the United accord. AMR has guaranteed that Japan Air will gain an additional $100 million annually for the first three years by coordinating flights and prices with American.

ANA plans to raise international passenger sales to 357 billion yen next fiscal year, compared with 274 billion yen last business year.

Haneda Codeshares

The carrier will also code-share on some Haneda flights with Malaysian Airline System Bhd. and Taiwan’s EVA Airways Corp. to help boost traffic, Ito said. The airline is adding flights to Los Angeles, Honolulu, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore from the downtown Tokyo airport. Japan Air will add services to six overseas cities including Paris and San Francisco.

ANA may also add Haneda flights to London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam once it begins receiving its 55 on-order 787s, which are due to arrive from the middle of the first quarter of next year. Boeing delayed the 787 for a sixth time in August after Rolls-Royce Group Plc was unable to supply an engine to complete flight testing. ANA had expected to receive the first Dreamliner in November and to start overseas flights in March.

“We want the 787s to be our main plane for Europe,” Ito.

CEFO

G'day all!

Is being able to speak Japanese an advantage to pass the interview?

It would be great to learn another language simply by hearing it every day, but is it something that may "make you or break you" in the interview panel's eyes?

Cheers!

CEFO

myoface

I dont think so....although you may be able to understand what in the hell they are asking you instead of guessing and answering the question you think they are asking you. Or, in my case, have them spell words out so I could understand what they said.

CEFO

Ha! Thanks myoface,

I don't know any Japanese. Maybe I should learn some!

I hope this place keeps sounding this good after I meet the minimum's.

Cheers!

CEFO

Palmtree Pilot

That's hilarious!! I answered at least 2 questions totally wrong or backwards because I really couldn't understand them. They also asked me how the MD11 performs on T/O with an engine failure. I said fine and they were apparently looking for me to recite the FAR 25 crap of 35' at the end of the runway, yadda, yadda.... That was April 2008.

Good Stuff!!

Pt P

hongkongfoey

I have been invited to TYO for screening at the end of November. Have read some fearsome stories about JCAB medical, just wondered if anyone knows what is the acceptable cholesterol range. (I live down south and like steak)

The Dominican

The magic number for what I have been told by the contract companies is less than 200

hongkongfoey

Thanks for the reply Dominican, I couldn't get anything out of HACS/CReW on this.

LIOG41

Hi folks,

Couple quick questions, and no I haven't been able to read all 81 pages of threads at 12midnight. I have read the last few pages so now to the questions...

1) Is living in Japan a possibility now instead of commuting back to the U.S.?
2) I just exceed the mins for the 767 FO position, are they calling folks from all experience levels?
3) Loaded question i know but i'm 30 yrs old, single, no kids, should I go with PARC or Crew? Or should I apply to both?

Thanks!

jrmyl

I can give my thoughts on these.

Number one: No. Although I have heard of some who live here and leave every 90 days. Unofficially of course.

Number two: I have no idea. I have a friend who is interviewing sometime in December and has just under 2000 tpic.

Number three: I went with Crew since I am from the US and they have an excellent health insurance program.