Star Alliance member All Nippon Airways (ANA) has confirmed updates to its China operations to October 28.
From May 1, ANA will increase the flight frequency on the Narita-Shanghai (Pudong) route to seven roundtrips per week, and together with flights to/from Haneda, the flights on the Shanghai route (Pudong and Hongqiao) will be raised to three roundtrips per day from the Tokyo metropolitan area.
ANA also will resume flying on the Osaka (Kansai)-Shanghai (Pudong) route from June 5 with three roundtrips per week. The route had been suspended for approximately three years since March 2020.
On Narita-Guangzhou, ANA will resume daily flights from May 1, up from just two weekly rotations currently.
The Japanese carrier will also launch daily flights between its Haneda hub and Shenzhen from May 20. This new route will replace its current twice-weekly Narita-Shenzhen schedule.
Furthermore, ANA will serve Hong Kong from Narita again twice a day from July 1, increased from six-weekly rotations currently. The Narita-Hong Kong flights will complement its daily Haneda-Hong Kong service.
Separately, ANA parent ANA HOLDINGS this week upgraded its full-year financial forecast after recording a strong final quarter, to March 31, for international travel. Net profit for the 12 months is expected to be JPY89 billion ($660 million), almost 50 per cent higher than its February forecast of a JPY60 billion profit.
“In the fourth quarter, the airline’s international passenger sector performed strongly as a result of the recovery in demand for business and inbound travel following the relaxation of Japan’s border control measures,” the airline parent said.
Last week ANA made the headlines when it sold premium cabin tickets originating in Indonesia at a steep discount. Most tickets booked were for travel between Jakarta and destinations in North America and were available for as little as $400 for a roundtrip in business class, or from $900 in first class.
Many travellers who booked these tickets have already successfully flown on them in recent days. ANA, however, has stated that it has yet to reach a final decision on tickets successfully issued for later travel.
