All Nippon Airways (ANA) has firmed up codeshare agreements with two small domestic carriers as it seeks to boost its home presence and compete more effectively with a merged Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan Air System.
The airline says it will establish a new operation called ANA Connection from April through codeshare agreements with regional operators Fair Inc and Nakanihon Airlines. The codeshares take effect from 18 April, when a long-awaited second runway opens at Tokyo's congested Narita airport.
ANA's codeshare agreement with Nakanihon will cover twice-daily Tokyo-Nagoya services. Fair Inc will operate daily services on the Tokyo-Osaka route, and twice-daily on the Tokyo-Sapporo and Tokyo-Sendai routes.
Independent Fair Inc operates Bombardier CRJs, while Nakanihon operates Fokker 50s and is 20%-owned by ANA.
Few domestic flights operate from congested Narita, and there are none with regional jets or turboprops. A second runway will finally open on 18 April.
The tie-ups are regarded as further signs of the continuing "realignment" of the Japanese airline sector following deregulation.
Late last year ANA's main rivals JAL and JAS agreed to a merger creating a carrier that can claim a domestic market share of around 48%, roughly equal to that of ANA. ANA is much smaller than JAL in the international market and wants to have the merger blocked by competition authorities.
It is widely expected to be approved, however, and observers say ANA will increasingly need to expand through partnerships with other independent carriers in order to compete effectively.
Source: Flight International
