Air Nippon

"ANK" redirects here. For FAA location identifier, see Harriet Alexander Field.

This article is about an airline, for the Egyptian hieroglyphic character see Ankh.

IATA EL ICAO ANK Callsign ANK AIR
Founded	March 1974
Commenced operations	10 October 1974
Operating bases	Tokyo International Airport
Alliance	Star Alliance
Fleet size	35
Destinations
Parent company	All Nippon Airways
Headquarters
Website	http://www.air-nippon.co.jp

Shiodome City Center

Air Nippon (エアーニッポン株式会社, Eā Nippon Kabushiki-gaisha^?), is a regional airline based in the Shiodome City Center complex in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.^[1] A wholly owned subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA), it mainly operates short routes and flights to isolated islands in support of ANA's domestic services. Its main base is Tokyo International Airport.^[2]

Code data

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

History

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]}

As part of ANA's reorganisation, Air Nippon's domestic operations are being consolidated into the main airline. 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.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998 the airline was headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo.^[4]

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.^[5] Shiodome City Center, which became headquarters of Air Nippon and parent company ANA, opened in 2003.^[6]

The airline employs 1,686 staff (at March 2007). Until 2010, Air Nippon operated the wholly owned subsidiary airline Air Nippon Network operating feeder services; however, on October 1, 2010, Air Nippon Network was merged into ANA Wings.^[2]

Destinations

Air Nippon Boeing 737-500 at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)

Air Nippon Boeing 737-700 at Memanbetsu Airport

Main article: Air Nippon destinations

Fleet

The Air Nippon fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of December 2009):^[2][7]

Air Nippon Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (Economy)
Boeing 737-500	6	126
Boeing 737-700	16	120
Boeing 737-800	8	167
Bombardier Dash 8-300	5	56

Previously operated

• Airbus A320-200
• Boeing 737-400

References

1. ^ "会社概要." Air Nippon. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 64. 2007-03-27. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 27-April 2, 1991. 62.
4. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. April 1–7, 1998. "All Nippon Airways" 45.
5. ^ "会社案内." Air Nippon. February 7, 2002. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
6. ^ "Shiodome City Center." Nihon Sekkei. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
7. ^ Air Nippon fleet list at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-30.

External links

	Tokyo portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

• Air Nippon Fleet Detail