Nippon Airlines

Nippon Airlines

JP: 日本空輸 (Nihon kuyu)

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Founded :21 December 1962

Parent company

#group:nippon-airlines-group NAL Group

Region

#region:asia

Headquarters

#country:japan Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan

Alliance

#alliance:orbis Orbis Alliance

Frequent flyer program

NAL Miles

Website

www.nal.jp

Hubs

Tokyo-Haneda, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, Osaka-Itami, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Naha, Sapporo, Sendai

Subsidiaries

NAL Wings, JDA, JPJet

Slogan

Inspiration of Japan

Tags

#airline:nippon-airlines

Nippon Airlines (JP: 日本空輸) (NAL) is a major Japanese airline and the largest airline in Japan. The airline is headquartered in the NAL Building, a large skyscraper in Shinjuku City, Tokyo. The airline was a founding member of the Orbis Alliance. NAL is self owned through NAL Holdings Inc/The NAL Group, and wholly owns subsidiaries, a regional subsidiary called NAL Wings,a regional carrier called Tohoku Air Connection, and a low cost carrier called JPJet. The airline owns a partial stake in Indian carrier IndOceanic, a small stake in American carrier Columbia Airlines, as well as major stakes in Japan Domestic Airways, Seikyu, Stellaris Air, and Air Hokkaido.

History

(1962-1965) Early Days

Nippon Airlines was founded on December 21st, 1962 as Nippon Air System. The airline started operations less than two months later on February 16th 1963 with a singular Douglas DC-7 on lease from Columbia Airlines. The first service was flight NA1 from Tokyo-Haneda to Osaka-Itami. NAS would receive heavy investment from Columbia and many other investors in its early years. Two Douglas DC-3’s would join the fleet a few weeks later to be introduced on flights to Sendai and Nagoya. Later that year, NAS would go bankrupt following the hangar which housed both of their DC-3’s getting burned down in a fuel fire. With no DC-3’s, NAS would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. More investment from a few other airlines would bail NAS out of bankruptcy and let them acquire two Boeing 720’s and five NAMC YS-11’s on order.

The 720’s would be deployed on Osaka-Itami and Sapporo services respectively, and proved to be a major asset for NAS, and a major help in expanding to cities like Fukuoka and Kagoshima. 1964 and 1965 would both bring some actual progress. Founding CEO Yosuke Iwata would step down from his position after he was paralyzed from a car crash in February 1964, just short of the airline’s one year anniversary. He would later recover and assume the position as CEO in 1979. Iwata was replaced by Hiroshi Tanaka, a younger and bolder executive who wanted to bring a new sense of fun and youthfulness into the airline’s branding. Tanaka made the bold decision to acquire six Douglas DC-8 jets, and make a future order for fifteen Boeing 727 aircraft’s to allow new routes to smaller airports. Tanaka also figure-headed the bid to become the official domestic partner airline of the 1964 Summer Olympics, shuttling tourists into their Haneda hub from around Japan. As part of this expansion, routes to many Japanese cities were started, such as Asahikawa, Kumamoto, Naha, Niigata, and many others, which were served in the previously ordered YS-11’s and new DC-8’s. 1965 brought the first of the 727’s, and new routes were launched all around the Ryuku Islands.

(1966-1979) Rapid Expansion

On August 15th 1966, Nippon Air System would merge with another similarly sized airline, Tohoku Airlines. Tohoku Airlines (Now renamed to Tohoku Air Connection) was a midsize domestic carrier with a hub at Sendai Airport, that focused on connecting the north of Japan with the south. They had an extensive domestic network out of Sendai, yet ran into financial troubles after failing to start up a Sapporo hub. Tanaka would lead this merger, blending the fleet and introducing the new hub at Sendai. To most in the Japanese market at the time, Sendai might have seemed like a burden, but to Tanaka, it was a blessing in disguise. NAS launched services from Sendai to Naha, Amami, and Ishigaki. These routes capitalized on the demand in winter from colder destinations to warmer ones, and the demand from Hokkaido and Northern Honshu to the Ryuku islands was strong. More YS-11’s and 727’s were inherited, as well as Fokker F27’s and 707’s. Most critically was the orders for twelve Boeing 737-100’s that Tohoku Airlines had arriving in 1970. NAS changed those orders to be the larger -200 variant shortly after the merger.

After the merger, NAS would introduce a new livery to usher in a new era. What previously was a basic and dull blue cheat-line turned into a fully blue colorful fuselage, with various unique designs on each plane. With a stronger financial situation, in 1968, NAS started a hub at Osaka-Itami, focusing on the giant demands that flights from Osaka to other cities in Japan. Continual growth would follow in 1969, when the airline introduced luxurious first class cabins on the 707 and domestic business class on the remainder of their fleet. In 1970, the Japanese government would offer to buy out NAS for a deal which would now be valued at one billion dollars. Despite the huge sums of money being offered, CEO Hiroshi Tanaka and the board of director’s outright refused and thus became the only major private airline in Japan at the time. To combat growing demand, the carrier ordered four Boeing 747SR aircraft for use domestically on high capacity routes. Around this time, NAS also invested in the railway line from Sendai Airport to downtown Sendai, which would be free for all connecting NAS passengers in business class, and be available at a reduced price for all NAS passengers. NAS would also invest in building their first two airport lounges, one at Naha Airport in Okinawa, and one at Tokyo-Haneda. In 1971 even more routes were debuted when Kagoshima was turned into a focus city, which was mostly comprised of routes to smaller airports in the Ryuku islands, and the islands south of Kyushu.

In 1972, the Japanese government once again offered to buy out NAS. Once again the offer was refused and private ownership would continue. The Boeing 720 fleet and singular DC-7 were both retired in August 1972 after the final few 727-200 and 737-200 aircraft were delivered. Also around this time, hubs in both Nagoya-Komaki and Fukuoka were established with the new narrowbodies connecting more and more cities around Japan. For a while, these hubs remained fairly small with regional flights in their immediate areas and flights to more medium and large sized cities. The Douglas DC-10 was also ordered in 1972, with deliveries a few years later. August 1972 would end with tragedy on the 30th of August, 1972, when a NAMC YS-11 operating as Nippon Air Systems flight 6536 from Niigata to Osaka-Itami crashed into the sea while on approach to Osaka-Itami International Airport. The crash resulted in the deaths of all 51 people on board, and was attributed to an issue in the ten YS-11’s NAL ordered, plus three others. This factory issue was in the YS-11’s horizontal stabilizers, which would cause aircraft to dive nose first, or stall by pitching too high upwards. It was found that all of NAS’s YS-11’s had this issue, and they were all promptly retired. Lacking regional aircraft, NAS ordered seven Douglas DC-9-10’s, and ten more Fokker F27’s (the five they had were only in use at the Sendai hub at the time).

Throughout the seventies, NAS kept growing. Their 100th aircraft was delivered just short of their tenth anniversary on February 16th, 1973. That aircraft would be their first DC-10 (JA100NA “Hyaku”), and would be their first named jet as well. This would start a trend of naming all already existing planes and all future aircraft as well. For their anniversary, a special livery was created, the first since the 1964 Olympics DC-8. NAS would also launch a Sapporo hub this year, which marked the final mainland hub city that they have in the present day being added (not counting Nagoya-Centrair, Osaka-Kansai or Tokyo-Narita.)

The mid seventies would bring more deliveries and route growth, as well as a development in airline relations. In 1974, Columbia Airlines was chosen as the first codeshare airline, and an interline agreement was formed, allowing passengers to fly from Japan to the US and beyond. This was the first step in NAS’s globalization, which would take place much later in the 1980s and 1990s. Three more Boeing 747SR’s were delivered to be used at the Nagoya and Osaka hubs in 1975. 1976 would bring an order for even more DC-10 aircraft to be delivered from 1982 on, which was actually cancelled a few years later following the crash of an NNA DC-10 in Okinawa.

The last years of the seventies would treat NAS well, as they started operations at Tokyo-Narita International airport in 1978. Unlike other airlines, they operated exclusively domestic routes out of the airport, capitalizing on other carriers lacking domestic services out of NRT. NAS also ordered the Lockheed L1011 as an alternative to the DC-10 after various crashes worldwide dropped customer approval of the aircraft. The 747-200 was also ordered that year, as well as more 737-200 jets.

1979 started off with another tragedy on March 2nd, 1979 when a NAS Boeing 727-200 operating Nippon Air System flight 623 from Fukuoka to Shizuoka collided with a Cessna 152 over a residential neighborhood in Shizuoka, causing the deaths of all 103 people on the Boeing, two in the Cessna, and 33 on the ground. The crash would go down as the second deadliest in NAL/NAS history. The incident did not affect NAS’s reputation as a reliable and safe major Japanese carrier, as the crash was attributed to the Cessna pilot violating clear airspace. Despite the tragic start to the year, one very positive thing ended it. After almost fifteen years of leading NAS successfully, on December 31st, 1979 CEO Hiroshi Tanaka stepped down at the young age of forty-five to retire from the airline business and start a private rail company in Hokkaido. He handed the reins to none other than the founder of NAS, Yosuke Iwata, who had recently recovered from his paralysis, and was ready to get back in the airline business. Iwata was welcomed back with open arms, and he would change things drastically for NAS.

(1980-1989) Going International

1980 was a very big year for the airline. With new aircraft and new technology appearing left and right, the aviation landscape was changing. NAS received their first L1011 Tristar, and orders were placed for both the Airbus A300 and A310. Most importantly, on May 2nd, 1980, Nippon Air Systems changed it’s name to Nippon Airlines (NAL) and introduced a brand new livery featuring a grey bottom section of fuselage, and a blue cheat-line with a white top of the fuselage. It was clear the airline was changing its brand, from the fun and carefree domestic carrier, to a more refined airline that still showed its old style. 1981 brought another year of setbacks for NAL and Japanese Airlines as a whole. In July 1981, a NNA DC-10 fatally crashed in Okinawa due to a structural failure. Immediately after the tragedy, NAL made the decision to retire the fairly new DC-10 fleet, and cancelled its orders of the DC-10. The L1011 was fully replacing the DC-10’s role on many high capacity domestic routes within a few months of the NNA crash.

1982 was a big year for orders. The first A300’s arrived to the airline this year, and NAL ordered the Boeing 737-300, 757-200, and 767-200. The fleet size of NAL also reached 200 aircraft during the year. Inflight services were also expanded, with new cabin refreshes and the introduction of more meal options. Most importantly though, was the revolutionary ban of smoking on all flights. The move was particularly out of health concerns from leading Japanese doctors, specifically one that was a friend of CEO Iwata. NAL was the first airline worldwide to ban smoking. 1983 brought more major improvements to services, with new lounges at many airports. The fleet grew once more with the orders of the DHC-8-100, in an effort to replace the Fokker F27. With arrivals of the Boeing 757-200, the fleet of Boeing 707’s inherited from Tokaido Airlines was retired in an effort to keep their fleet modern. The DC-8’s were also retired and replaced by the 757 later that year. No new orders were put through for all of 1984 and 1985, and the Fokker F27 was replaced completely by late 1984. Many more previously aircraft also arrived. 1985 brought another tragedy for NAL, when Nippon Airlines flight 3292, a Q100, crashed into terrain on approach into Matsumoto Airport, killing 13 people, and leaving ten survivors. The crash was attributed to poor radar and heavy fog.

1986 was single-handedly the most important year in Nippon Airlines history. This was the year that Japanese aviation was deregulated, and NAL was allowed to start international flights, finally challenging the international monopoly that was Nippon National Airways. NNA was going through heavy financial troubles, and combined with deregulation, CEO Iwata decided to strike. One day after deregulation passed, NAL ordered more 737-300’s, 757-200’s, 767-200’s, Q100’s, and a future order for the Airbus A320, and the Embraer 120. Most critically, an order was put through for more Boeing 747-200’s and new 747-300’s. NAL immediately started services to a variety of Asian and pacific cities, ranging from cities all the way from Seoul to New Zealand. Most importantly though, were the routes to Vancouver, San Francisco, London-Heathrow, and New York. Luxury first class cabins, ambitious advertisement programs, and rapid pace growth were all put together in 1986 as a gamble, and that gamble paid off. NAL became a major international airline and cemented itself as a global player in the airline industry. And that growth would only continue in 1987, with more 737 Classics, an order for the 737-400 also orders for the 767-300, of which NAL was the launch customer of. Unlike other airlines, deregulation went heavily in NAL’s favor. The 727-200 was retired in late 1987, in favor of larger 737 variants or the 757.

1988 brought even more international routes, and the 737-200 began to get phased out in favor of the 737-500’s on order. NAL also moved headquarters this year, from their original headquarters in Yokohama to a new headquarters in Minato City, Tokyo. 1988 was also the year that CEO Yosuke Iwata announced a mileage program for the airline called NAL Miles, allowing members and partner card members to gain miles and use them to get tickets. NAL also revamped their livery again, changing it to a cleaner look, ditching the cheat-line and introducing an older version of the current livery, featuring Japanese titles instead of the current English ones. 1988 also brought Naha to hub status, and orders were put through for the Bombarider CRJ200. The regional division of NAL was also separated in 1988 to form NAL Wings.

The final year of the decade brought orders for the 747-400, which was meant to replace the -200. 1989 was also when CEO Iwata chose to step down and hand the reins to the third CEO in the airline’s history, Kensuke Akagi, a young executive who was nominated to the position by Iwata himself. Iwata left his position with a final speech, and as the middle of 1989 rolled around, Akagi took over. His first major act as CEO was formally retiring the 737-200 fleet, and announcing a Hotel program for mileage members. 1989 was ended when the airline added overhead monitors to all flights displaying route information or movies, as well as orders for 747-400D jets.