Air Japan was established as World Air Network on 29 June 1990 and became the charter airline arm of ANA, but ceased operation since September 1995. In 2000, World Air Network was renamed Air Japan, , operating services under the ANA brand. It relaunched service as a scheduled airline in 2001; its first flight departed from Osaka to Seoul, South Korea with a Boeing 767-300 transferred from ANA.[6][7]
It was announced on 2 April 2010 that Air Japan and ANA & JP Express will merge, with Air Japan being the surviving company.[8][9] In 2018, the airline started Boeing 787 operations, flying under the ANA name.[citation needed]
Redevelopment
On 8 March 2022, ANA unveiled plans to transform Air Japan into a low-cost medium-haul carrier, with flights to be launched in February 2023. It was launched with the slogan, Fly Thoughtful.[10][5] Up to this point, Air Japan had shared the same callsign with All Nippon Airways on all flights except routes to and from Seoul Incheon, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Honolulu which use the Air Japan call sign.[citation needed]
On 9 March 2023, ANA announced that Air Japan will be servicing flights to and from Southeast Asia starting in February 2024, using Boeing 787 Dreamliners in an all-Economy class layout.[11] The airline is intended as ANA's rival to Japan Airlines' ZipAir, which competes in the same sector.[12] The first city that the new Air Japan will operate to is Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi), starting 9 February 2024 six times a week.[13][14]
The future Air Japan fleet will consist of Boeing 787-8 aircraft to be transferred from its parent company ANA. In the past, the airline operated Boeing 787s on behalf of ANA by both ANA and Air Japan pilots.[10][22]
The first Boeing 787 aircraft with registration code JA803A, slated for operation by Air Japan (NQ), a subsidiary of ANA Holdings (ANA), is anticipated to land at Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) in the early hours of January 26.[23]
References
^ ab"Air Japan". ch-aviation. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
