All Nippon Airways (ANA) will conduct the last flight of its first Boeing 787-8 aircraft (registration: JA801A) as an ANA aircraft on March 1. On its final day, it is scheduled to make two round trips on the Tokyo/Haneda-Seoul/Gimpo route, with the final flight expected to be NH868, arriving in Tokyo/Haneda at 9:55 PM. After the end of its operation, the aircraft will be reconfigured as the second aircraft for ANA Holdings’ new brand ‘AirJapan’ and is scheduled to enter service in mid-April.
ANA took delivery of JA801A, its first 787 model, on September 25, 2011. Along with the second aircraft introduced, JA802A, it featured a special livery with diagonally crossing blue lines, which was affectionately known by aviation fans as the “mackerel livery.” The special livery operation ended with flight NH828 from Phnom Penh to Tokyo/Narita on February 12, 2017, and was repainted to the ordinary Triton Blue livery at MRO Japan at Itami Airport.
▲ The initial “mackerel” livery of JA801A
Initially operated with a provisional configuration of 264 seats (12 business class seats, 252 economy class seats), it was reconfigured to 222 seats (42 business class, 180 economy class) following a refurbishment in October 2013. It was further modified to a ’78M’ configuration with 240 seats (42 business class, 198 economy class) in November 2015.
March 1, the last day of operation in ANA’s Triton Blue colors, will see the aircraft deployed on the NH861, 864, 865, and 868 flights between Tokyo/Haneda and Seoul/Gimpo. The last domestic operation will be flight NH666 from Nagasaki to Tokyo/Haneda on February 29.
▲ The first aircraft of AirJapan, JA803A
AirJapan plans to introduce six 787-8 aircraft from ANA by the end of fiscal year 2025, following modifications. The first aircraft, JA803A, underwent modification at HAECO Xiamen in China and began operation on February 9. All aircraft will have a uniform cabin layout with all economy class seats in a ‘3-3-3’ configuration totaling 324 seats.
▲ The repainting of JA801A from “mackerel” livery to regular livery (February 20, 2017)
