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All Nippon Airways (ANA) remains one of the smallest operators of the Airbus A380, with a fleet of three aircraft dedicated exclusively to its Tokyo Narita-Honolulu route. This deployment has drawn attention due to consistently low passenger loads throughout 2024.
The airline began operating the A380s on this route in May 2019, after acquiring the aircraft through an unusual arrangement. ANA inherited the orders from Skymark Airlines, a Japanese low-cost carrier that went bankrupt. In order to secure valuable slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, ANA agreed to take on Skymark’s outstanding order for three A380s.
Each ANA A380 is configured with 520 seats: 383 in economy class, 73 in premium economy, 56 in business class, and eight first-class suites. However, data from the US Department of Transportation shows that load factors on flights between Honolulu and Tokyo have often been low—averaging just 61% in 2024 and dropping as low as 43% during April. Monthly figures indicate some variation: August saw a high of 80%, while several months hovered below or around the average.
