All Nippon’s third and final Airbus A380 has rolled out of the paint shop. The giant turtle of an aircraft sports an impressive Sunset Orange livery. The aircraft, named Ka La, is the final piece in the puzzle that is ANA’s Airbus A380 order.
All Nippon Airways has been slightly behind the rush when it comes to Airbus A380 deliveries. The airline placed the smallest order of any airline for just three of the aircraft. In fact, ANA received its first Airbus A380 after the end of the program was announced last February.
Welcome Ka La
Now it is Ka La’s turn to prepare to join ANA. Once this sunset orange Airbus A380 has been delivered, Airbus will only make A380s for Emirates. Then, once the final Emirates A380 has been delivered, the construction line will be closed. Airbus won’t waste the space, however. It will be converted into a space to assemble Airbus A321s.
Ka La will join Lani, an ANA blue A380, as well as Kai, an Emerald green Airbus A380. Both of these aircraft were delivered to ANA in 2019.
Why only three?
Having just three Airbus A380s may seem like an odd strategy for an airline. However, it is a strategy that ANA has spent a lot of time thinking through. They are using the A380 exclusively on flights to and from Hawaii. With the arrival of Ka La, the Asian carrier will be able to boost its Tokyo-Honolulu frequency to twice per day with the A380.
ANA has put an awful lot of work into branding the Honolulu route as the A380 route and it shows. That is actually the reason why each Airbus A380 is painted to look like a Hawaiian sea turtle.
Hawaiian Workhorse
There are currently no plans for the All Nippon Airways Airbus A380 to fly anywhere other than Hawaii. When the Airbus A380 goes twice daily on the route, it will be the only aircraft the airline uses to Honolulu. Currently, the Boeing 777 operates a handful of services to Honolulu.
Hawaii is a huge focus destination for ANA right now. The airline has pumped a number of resources into renovating its gate in Honolulu. In fact, the gate sounds more like an entire departure lounge with Areas for children and a separate lounge. Business and First passengers can board the upper deck directly from the lounge.
When all three of the Airbus A380s are in operation, ANA believes it will hold a market share of 25% of all of the seats between Honolulu and Tokyo. This sat at just 15% before the first A380 was delivered.
Have you seen ANA’s A380 yet? Which color is your favorite? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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