11-Feb-2011 9:31 AM
ANA establishes A&F Aviation as legal entity for new LCC
All Nippon Airways (ANA) stated (10-Feb-2011) A&F Aviation Co Ltd was established on 10-Feb-2011 as the legal entity for a new LCC (Reuters/Dow Jones, 10-Feb-2011). Other details of the new company include:
- Executive news: Shinichi Inoue has been announced as CEO of the company. He has previously served as the head of ANA's Asia business strategy team;
- Aim of company: The new company will be responsible for launching the LCC that will operate domestically in Japan and the Asia Pacific;
- Investment ratios: Japanese investors 66.7% (of which ANA holds less than 40%) and First Eastern 33.3%;
- Near-term timeline: The brand will be launched after Mar-2011 and the company will commence operations in 2HFY2011;
- Profitability: The company plans to be profitable on an annual basis in three years and to clear away accumulated debt in five years from launch. Mr Inoue added: "The first five years are crucial";
- Fleet: The company plans to more than triple its fleet within five years to 16 aircraft, up from five aircraft initially. The aircraft will be configured with around 180 seats;
- Passenger targets: The carrier aims for annual passenger traffic of 6.0 million within five years after launch;
- Base: Kansai International Airport;
- Network: The company plans to operate to destinations within three to four hours' flying time from Kansai;
- Cost focus: Mr Inoue stated the carrier will "focus heavily on cost, but that doesn't mean 'cheap and nasty". He continued: "Our (in-flight) service will be minimal and simple ... passengers can expect services but with additional charges";
- Relationship to ANA: The airline will operate independently from ANA under a different brand name.