ANA Cargo began 777F operations in July 2019. (Photo: ANA Cargo)
Japan-based ANA Cargo will stop flying its two 777Fs on its only own-operated transpacific route between Tokyo (NRT) and Chicago (ORD) starting March 29, according to the carrier’s newly released 2020 schedule.
The timetable shows the only service to be operated by ANA’s 777F aircraft starting March 29 will be between NRT and Shanghai (PVG), a route with a great circle distance of approximately 1,800 kilometers. Being confined to the short hop to China appears to be somewhat of a waste of the 777F’s capabilities, considering that it can fly the 10,000-kilometer trip between NRT and ORD nonstop.
While ANA didn’t say whether it is looking to deploy the 777F to another destination in the U.S., the carrier told Cargo Facts it would maintain the codeshare agreement it has with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) on its 747-8F flights between NRT and ORD, and plans to push the frequency from two round trips per week to five per week during the course of this year.
The timing of the 777Fs’ introduction to the ANA fleet wasn’t ideal. The two aircraft (65756 and 65757) were ordered in March 2018. Unit 65756 arrived in May and 65757 was delivered in June 2019, against a backdrop of continuing weakness in the overall economy as well as trade tension between China and the U.S.
But the carrier hasn’t experienced an overall surge in main-deck capacity. ANA sold three of its 767-300BCFs to Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) last year, with the first aircraft (25136) leaving the fleet in August 2019 and the second (24632) in November.
ANA’s combined cargo volume from July, when it began flying the first 777F in regular service, through November 2019 fell by 5.2% year over year, according to the company’s group traffic results.
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