Air Nippon

Not to be confused with All Nippon Airways.
Air Nippon
IATA ICAO Call sign
EL ANK ANK AIR
FoundedMarch 1974
Commenced operations10 October 1974
Ceased operations1 April 2012 (merged into ANA Wings)
Operating basesTokyo International Airport
Frequent-flyer programANA Mileage Club
AllianceStar Alliance (Affiliate)
Fleet size35
Parent companyAll Nippon Airways
Former Air Nippon logo
Shiodome City Center

Air Nippon Co., Ltd. (エアーニッポン株式会社, Eā Nippon Kabushiki-gaisha) was a regional airline based in the Shiodome City Center complex in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.[1]

It was a wholly owned subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA). Its main base was Tokyo International Airport.[2]

Code data

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In April 2004, Air Nippon adopted ANA flight codes and numbers for all domestic services.

History

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A former Air Nippon NAMC YS-11.
A former Air Nippon Boeing 737-200.
former Air Nippon Boeing 737-500 at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
former Air Nippon Boeing 737-700 at Memanbetsu Airport

The company was founded by ANA, Japan Airlines and TOA Domestic as Nippon Kinkyori Airways[3] (日本近距離航空, Nippon Kinkyori Kōkū, lit. Japan Short-Distance Airline, NKK[3]) in March 1974 and started operations on 10 October 1974. The name Air Nippon was adopted in 1987, and the abbreviation ANK comes from the full, somewhat redundant name Air Nippon Kabushiki kaisha (lit. Air Nippon joint stock corporation.).[citation needed]

It had 12 Boeing 737-200 aircraft. ANA and Air Nippon used different liveries and IATA codes on domestic flights until April 2004, when Air Nippon adopted ANA livery and ANA flight numbers. As an ANA subsidiary, it is considered a full Star Alliance member. However, on Republic of China flights before April 2008, Air Nippon's IATA code EL was still used due to political reasons and these flights are not considered being Star Alliance flights.[4]

In 1998 the airline was headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo.[5]

In 2002 Air Nippon was headquartered on the 5th floor of the Utility Center Building (ユーティリティセンタービル, Yūtiriti Sentā Biru) by Tokyo International Airport in Ōta.[6] Shiodome City Center, which became headquarters of Air Nippon and parent company ANA, opened in 2003.[7]

The airline employed 1,686 staff (at March 2007). On 1 October 2010, Air Nippon Network was merged into ANA Wings.[2]

On 1 April 2012, Air Nippon was merged to All Nippon Airways.

Destinations

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Main article: List of Air Nippon destinations

Fleet

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The Air Nippon fleet consisted of the following aircraft throughout operations:[8]

Air Nippon Airways Historical Fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 3 1992 2010 166
Boeing 737-200 11 1983 2000 126 Transferred from All Nippon Airways
Boeing 737-400 2 2000 2005 168 Transferred to Hokkaido International Airlines
Boeing 737-500 25 1995 2010 126
133
Boeing 737-700 16 2005 2012 120
Boeing 737-700ER 2 2007 2012 36 Operated as ANA Business Jet
48
Boeing 737-800 16 2008 2012 167
176
Boeing 767-300ER 3 1994 2010 216
Bombardier Dash 8-300 5 2001 2002 56 Transferred to Air Nippon Network
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Un­known 1974 1994 10 Transferred to Air Hokkaido
NAMC YS-11 Un­known 1978 2003 Un­known Transferred from All Nippon Airways

References

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  1. ^ "会社概要 Archived 2009-05-21 at the Wayback Machine." Air Nippon. Retrieved on 19 May 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 64.
  3. ^ a b "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 27-April 2, 1991. 62.
  4. ^ IATA. "IATA - Codes - Airline and Airport Codes Search". www.iata.org. IATA. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  5. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. April 1–7, 1998. "All Nippon Airways" 45.
  6. ^ "会社案内." Air Nippon. 7 February 2002. Retrieved on 20 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Shiodome City Center Archived 2009-05-28 at the Wayback Machine." Nihon Sekkei. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  8. ^ Air Nippon fleet list at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-30.[permanent dead link‍]
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