ANA to celebrate 30 years of international flights

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its first scheduled international flight on March 3 and will mark the occasion with special menus and gifts.

While the first scheduled international flight took place in 1986, the carrier’s history dates to December 1952 when the Japan Helicopter & Aeroplane Transports Co., Ltd. was established. The goal was to restore regular air transportation services that were disrupted by World War II.

In October 1953 the company was authorized to operate scheduled passenger service and, in December of the same year, expanded its network of routes after starting cargo service on the Tokyo-Osaka route.

In December 1957, the company changed its name to All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., and merged with Far Eastern Airlines, Ltd., in March of the following year.

The airline introduced its first jet aircraft, Boeing (NYSE:BA) 727s in March 1965 followed by 737s in May 1969.

Non-scheduled international service began in February 1971 with the opening of a Tokyo-Hong Kong route but it would be more than 15 years before the airline would introduce scheduled international service.

The carrier made its inaugural scheduled international flight from Tokyo to Guam on March 3, 1986 and has since continued to expand its international route network. The airline now flies to 59 routes spanning 39 cities including four new international routes launched in 2015. As previously reported by TheTravelPro, ANA has announced new routes to Wuhan in central China and Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia to begin later this year.

To mark the anniversary, all passengers departing Japan on March 3 rd will be presented with ANA-branded furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth. The gifts are both a gesture of gratitude and Japanese hospitality, the airline said.

Flight attendants in vintage and current uniforms
Just as clothing styles have changed over the last 30 years, so have the style of flight attendant uniforms. In fact, the current uniforms -- the farthest right in the photo -- are the airline’s 10th generation of uniform. As a nod to the past, F/As on the March 3 Flight 6 from Tokyo to Los Angeles will wear all the previous versions of the uniform.

First Class and Business Class passengers will also enjoy special dishes prepared for the anniversary celebration.

ANA will bring back one of its most popular in-flight offerings, the ANA Original Parfait, which will be served on flights departing Japan on March 3 for Europe and the USA, excluding Honolulu and late-night departure flights.

ANA has also teamed up with chefs and collaboration partners to create special in-flight menus for two long-haul international flights.

First and Business Class passengers on Flight 2 from Narita (NRT) to Washington, DC’s Dulles International Airport (IAD) will be treated to hand-rolled sushi. Business class passengers on Flight 215 from Haneda (HND) to Paris (CDG) will be attended by a chef from Pierre Hermé who will serve a Pierre Hermé original parfait.

Finally, Business class passengers on Flight 845 from NRT to Singapore (SIN) will be served Soraton ramen noodles by staff from Ippudo, a Japanese ramen restaurant chain with restaurants in London, Paris, Sydney, New York and Seattle in addition to numerous locations throughout Asia.

In 2015, well before the 30th anniversary, ANA reached the major milestone of transporting more than 100 million passengers on the airline’s international flights.

ANA remains committed to further expanding its network of international flights, harnessing its international business as a pillar to growth while continually working to improve product and service quality in order to provide safe, high-quality flight experiences to passengers from around the world, the airline said in its statement about the anniversary.

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Photo provided by ANA
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