ANA has asked Airbus to delay the delivery of its final third Airbus A380 to at least October, following a decline in air travel demand. The aircraft was supposed to enter service last month, but with little or no need for flights to Hawaii and a grounded A380 fleet, ANA has delayed the delivery by six months.

ANA Airbus A380
The delivery of ANA's third A380 has been deferred until at least October. Photo: Airbus

What are the details?

ANA has delayed delivery of its last of three A380 aircraft by six months.

"In regards to the delivery of our 3rd A380 aircraft, it has been confirmed to be delayed. However, we are unable to provide you the exact delivery date as it is still under coordination." ANA told Simple Flying.

The orange Airbus A380, tail number JA383A, is currently in France and has not been handed over to ANA, as the carrier looks to delay orders across the board.

"The aircraft due for delivery in the second half of this fiscal year will be shifted to the next fiscal year," said ANA President and CEO Shinya Katanozaka to Airline Geeks.

qantas-tokyo-haneda
ANA ordered more Boeing 787s in February. Photo: Toshi Aoki via Wikimedia Commons.

As well as the A380 on order, the carrier has also delayed Boeing 787s and, reportedly, a Boeing 777X.

"As for the 777-9X that we've ordered, the delivery has been postponed partly due to circumstances on their end." Katanozaka continued, referring to the Boeing delays in the 777X program.

The last we heard of the A380 was when it returned from the paint shop in Hamburg on January 24th.

Since then, on March 24th, ANA grounded its A380 fleet following Hawaii sanctioning a two week quarantine period for new international arrivals. As the ANA A380s cater to the tourist trade, these new travel restrictions made business unfeasible, and the airline decided to shut them down for the time being.

What was the original order delivery?

ANA expected to take delivery of the A380 by March and would have put it into active service by the end of April.

This third A380 would have joined its two 'sister' A380 aircraft on the Tokyo to Honolulu route, operating up to 14 return services a week in June (with the help of an additional of four Boeing 777s).

"ANA's efforts to offer a unique flight experience for passengers traveling between Tokyo and Honolulu [on the A380] is just one of the steps that we have taken to ensure that we continue elevating our standards of service," said Seiichi Takahashi, Senior Vice President of ANA in a press release in January.

The three ANA A380's with their unique Hawaiian liveries. Source: ANA

ANA is in fierce competition with Japan Airlines for traffic on the route and saw using A380s as a way to elevate itself over its competitors.

Sunset was the inspiration for the third ANA A380's unique livery and followed in the trend of the other two A380s in the fleet. The first was painted sky blue to represent the Hawaiian skies and the second emerald green to represent the island chain.

What do you think of this news? Have you flown onboard the ANA A380? Let us know your stories in the comments.