ANA to restart superjumbo 'sea turtle' flights to Hawaii in July

As Honolulu bookings soar, Japanese airline's A380s will make regular trips

Apr 30 (Nikkei) - Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways is restoring the world's largest passenger planes for its connection to Hawaii starting in July, after the double-decker jets stopped regular flights more than two years ago.

The Airbus A380s will resume service from Narita International Airport near Tokyo to Honolulu, ANA President and CEO Shinichi Inoue told reporters Friday. The planes will depart twice weekly, on Fridays and Saturdays, July 1 through Oct. 29.

ANA's A380s, which seat over 500 people each, are known for their exterior sea turtle designs since the animals are venerated in Hawaii. The planes are nicknamed the "FLYING HONU," using the Hawaiian word for sea turtle.

The airline, the main subsidiary of ANA Holdings, received the first A380 in May 2019 and the second unit a month later. The third jet arrived in October 2021. But because of the pandemic, the A380 has not been in regular service since March 2020.

ANA decided to bring the "FLYING HONU" back into service after an increase in bookings to Honolulu. Thanks to vaccines and other interventions, Hawaii's COVID-19 infection rates are under control.

The carrier also operates three regular round-trip flights weekly connecting Haneda Airport in Tokyo to Honolulu. That frequency rises to four in May and five in July.

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