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© 2016 AFPANA reportedly to buy 3 Airbus A380s
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© 2016 AFP
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BertieWooster
If they are Airbuses, shouldn't this be a billion-Euro deal?
AsianGaijinYesWeExist
A lot of international business transactions are denominated in US dollars.
In any case, I don't understand the Japanese's fascination with Hawaii. Sub tropical and tropical Asia has so much more to offer, for a lot cheaper. This coming from a US citizen.
paulinusa
First, there's the tradition of Hawaiian businesses (restaurants, hotels etc.) catering almost exclusively to the Japanese tourist. There's also a history of Japanese heritage on Hawaii. And finally, there's no shortage of Japanese nationals willing to live in Hawaii and providing Japanese language support to tourists who have limited English capability.
nath
Yeah, my wife got a massage package when we were there last year, at a shop owned and staffed by Japanese people, all done in Japanese. And there are services like that everywhere.
As English speakers, it's easy for us to travel most anywhere in the world and be able to communicate with someone. Japanese people don't have that luxury.
A.N. Other
Japanese going to Hawaii is like Brits going to Ibiza or Corfu. Going back to the plane, I've flown in an A380 and it's a a superb aircraft.
AsianGaijinYesWeExist
I thought half the fun of traveling is to get away from the familiar. Oh well.
nath
I wouldn't call Hawaii 'familiar' to the Japanese.
JeffLee
Make it Tokyo-Bangkok, and I'll be a happy man.
YuriOtani
Unless you are in Business of First Class it is just another form of uncomfortable. I have seen the pictures.
nath
I flew back on a A380 from Singapore last month and I can only say that it was the most gracious flying experience I have had in 40 years of flying. Way to go ANA! If you can provide the same service as Singapore Airlines then I will fly to anywhere you fly with these incredible aircraft.
nath
Yeah, but Yuri saw pictures and has assured us they are no good. How can we trust your real-life experience?
theResident
Seen pictures of what exactly @yuriotani? You certainly haven't seen a photo of how ANA (if the story is true) will configure the plane. Many airlines now fly the A380 - with total seat numbers anywhere between 420-615. Its incredibly quiet and very spacious is all classes on two carriers I flown with.
Zaphod
Is cattle class any different than on other jumbo planes? And is disembarkation like when 600 people arrive at once?
Who am I
@Zaphod: Disembarkation takes place on two levels of the plane. Timewise no difference to other planes. And as mentioned by others the interior of the plane is superbly quiet. No engine noise inside the plane. I used AF several times when they still used the A380 on their NRT-CDG route to experience the A380. It was superbly quiet and overall a great experience. Unfortunately AF no longer uses this model on this route. Maybe difficult to fill on a daily basis?
Peter Shaw
@zaphod - Economy on the A380's that I've flown on (BA & LH) have the most amount of room of any long distance plane I've used. Being a double decker plane the two half's disembark separately so it's no different than any other plane really.
smithinjapan
Why does ANA always rush to be number one before the things have been tried and truly tested? They do this EVERY TIME just to try and beat JAL, which also rushes to do the same. They did the exact same with the Dreamliners -- wanted to be the first company to have the most jets -- and had major losses when the fleet was grounded as a result.
AsianGaijin: "In any case, I don't understand the Japanese's fascination with Hawaii. Sub tropical and tropical Asia has so much more to offer, for a lot cheaper."
The latter places don't have the same quality Duty Free shops, nor can the people live inside quite the same Japanese bubble if they go elsewhere. If you're not on a tour there are a lot of local places you can visit that make the trip worthwhile, regardless of where you go, of course, but in my opinion there is absolutely no reason to spend any time or money going to a place that has very little cultural or other differences than if you went to Shirahama or some other domestic place. It'd be like Americans flying over to Japan to go to USJ and eat McDonald's. My wife, unfortunately, has a lot of Japanese tastes like that and wants to go to Hawaii or Disney Land, while I much prefer to go to a country where you can LEARN something, experience different culture and language, try different, foods, and see all sorts of things. So, we compromised this time and went to Thailand, both island resort and inner-city Bangkok, and while we spent a lot more than if it were just me backpacking, we both had a good time.
No double-decker Airbus, mind you.
LostinNagoya
Easy to understand: 1) different, western culture, opposite to visiting Singapore, for example. 2) reively safer. 3) English speaking destination, an obvious target for every Japanese studying English. 3) the American way of life, which Japan dreams of.
Who am I
ANA may have been able to get a good price by buying one of the A380 that Airbus had started to build for Skymark. With Skymark being unable to pay for the 6 A380s they had ordered and Airbus having a nearly ready A380 on hand built according to Skymark's ordered configuration that no one else was willing to buy it may be good deal for both sides.
wtfjapan
As English speakers, it's easy for us to travel most anywhere in the world and be able to communicate with someone. Japanese people don't have that luxury. Asians from hongkong, Singapore etc dont seem to have much trouble communicating, but then again there far more international than Japanese and actually make the effort to learn english at an early age.
Gary Raynor
wtfjapanJan. 02, 2016 - 12:38PM JST
but then again there far more international than Japanese and actually make the effort to learn english at an early age
You should take your own advice. Or is that you're?
pacific08
LOL, I like your sense of humor Strangerland :)
AsianGaijinYesWeExist
The duty free shops in Singapore and Hong Kong are first rate in terms of selection and pricing. The ones in Hawaii would have to be extraordinarily good to best them. Admittedly I haven't looked at them when I was in Honolulu years ago, but if they're anything like those in San Francisco or Los Angeles, then there's simply no comparison to Singapore or Hong Kong's.
Citizen2012
I am still waiting ANA to announce to stop flight to Paris from Narita like JAL since it is supposed to be because half of customers are only available compare to pre last november, unless it is not true......
Seawolf
Flew A 380 to Singapore 6 years ago. Quiet indeed, but what got my attentions were the wings. When taking up speed during take-off, the wing end started to bend more and more upwards, as if the plane was too heavy..reminded me of the old animated movie "Bernard&Bianca Mouse detectives" where a rather clumpsy albatross was trying to start flying. Not that it scared me, it's just so different from the old thinking of an airplane as a stiff piece.
nath
I fly in cargo planes for free! Much better and much more space. Okay, I'm being a little cranky, but yeah, must be a really nice ride but flying commercial really leave a lot to be desired. Wouldn't mind trying boarding one of those once, but I'm sure it will be cost prohibitive.
wanderlust
At the moment, I fly in them a couple of times each month, usually on TG or SQ. The 2 level disembarkation does not always happen, depending on the air bridge at the arriving airport, so occasionally you have the upper deck passengers having to use the stairs at either end of the plane, which can be a real mess, but that is to do with the airport, not the airplane. Then it can take longer than usual to disembark if you are at the back, on the lower deck,
The cabins are a little spacier, the upper decks with business class and suites are great, and it is quieter.
I guess to Honolulu, ANA would go for a 2-class configuration, around 615 on board, similar to the Emirates new airplanes.
Airbus has also sold it first 850-seater, all-economy class aircraft to Reunion's Air Austral. The cram-them-in configuration, known euphemistically as "high-density", has been certified for use by civil aviation authorities after a fire test in which 873 people, 853 "passengers" and 20 crew, were safely evacuated in under 80 seconds. Of course, that was not with real passengers who take their carry-on baggage with them nowadays.
Laguna
Hawaii I can understand, but few tourists make it beyond Honolulu, which is a lot like vacationing in Fukuoka. Get off the plane, go through immigration and customs, get on another plane, and get the hell off of Oahu: That is how to enjoy Hawaii.
dodosuko
Hawaii offers the best weather, nature, food and nicest people, I could easily understand why it will always be popular for not only Japanese but travelers from everywhere in the world.
With some of the other tropical resorts in Asia like Thailand, Bali or Cebu (Philippines) that I have visited well sure they're also great places, it's just sometime things could be hit and misses, like the weather could be very very humid which makes you constantly sweating and uncomfortable, food poisoning happened to me in Thailand and Bali, security guards armed with M16 at ATMs in Philippines. There wasn't a time that I wasn't offered girls, weed or magic mushrooms in Thai and Bali by street hustlers if I'm walking by myself. Even Tuk Tuk drivers are always asking if I'm interested in local girls. You'll also end up paying similar price as Hawaii for the higher rank establishment (hotels, spas, restaurants, marine sports and activities) for the better quality in these resort islands if you know what I'm saying.
Sure you ended up paying a little bit more expensive with Hawaii but the Aloha spirit along with the nature, food, people will always be enticing for me to revisit again. Hawaii's just simply 最高!
Serrano
AsianGaijinYesWeExist: "In any case, I don't understand the Japanese's fascination with Hawaii."
Ever been to Hawaii, AsianGaijinYesWeExist?
Wc626
I don't either. Most Japanese never venture far from their resorts. Their itinerary is micro-managed through their, "travel agency's tour package." And they eat Japanese food 90% of that hawaiian vacations. Sounds like a boring vacation, there are so many places to go once you leave the main island.
theResident
@smithinjapan: May I ask why you are comparing the purchase of the A380 to the 787? ANA were in my opinion also foolhardy to be the launch customer of the 787. But the A380 has been around for 9 years now and is flown by several airlines. Also, JAL have NEVER bought Airbus. ANA have probably found the perfect plane for a route that is constantly full. Note that they plan to only fly to Hawaii using this aircraft. They've been an extremely successful airline the last few years and having flown several long haul routes with them they seem to be utilising the right aircraft to make the most money.
Raymond Chuang
I think ANA got a GREAT deal from Airbus to take three A380's--two from Skymark and one that was under construction for the now-defunct Transaero airline in Russia--for a very cheap price, including the cost of converting the interiors to ANA configuration. And ANA could get more A380's, especially given both Malaysian Airlines and ThaiAirways International are reportedly putting up their A380's for sale.
YuriOtani
Am not sure why they are wonderful? A coach seat is a coach seat 31 inches of pitch and 17 inches across. The inside of a 380 in coach looks like a 747, 3 4 3 . There is just a lot more seats. I fly business class a lot and that looks better but still... The real advantage is First Class Suites but I do not have enough money to throw away on this frivolity. < http://airchive.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/LH-A380-ECONOMY-2.jpg>
Those seat cushions sure look thin!
DaveAllTogether
Incorrect. JAL has purchased 31 A350s, but are not expected to take delivery until 2019. ANA has been flying A320s for many years.
As a pilot I would like to fly the A380. I started off In the 320 so it would be kind of nostalgic to go back to Airbus. However, if the only place I'm flying to is Hawaii then forget it.
theResident
Apologies Dave - You are of course correct :)
sighclops
@SeaWolf
I watched a documentary on it. They parked 80 cars on each wing - that's how strong they are!
wtfjapan
You should take your own advice. Or is that you're? actually Mr grammar police its theyre, but correct me again for the typo, but my statement is still correct