ANA and Air Do Conclude Basic Alliance Agreement

All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Hokkaido International Airlines (Air Do) today signed a basic alliance agreement to start code-share operations and implement a variety of measures aimed at realizing efficiencies and enhancing services and revenues.

"By providing more frequencies and increased convenience between Tokyo's Haneda airport and Sapporo, this is yet another way we are ensuring the competition in the Japan market remains forever in our rear view mirror," said Yoji Ohashi, ANA's president and CEO. "However, the real winners in this agreement will be travelers and the local economy of Hokkaido."

"This is the first phase of Air Do's restructuring program under the terms of the Civil Rehabilitation Law that will permit the company to reinvent itself as the 'Wings of Hokkaido' while still providing the same low fares on an even lower cost base," said Koichiro Ono, executive vice president. "ANA is proud to be providing Air Do industry-leading managerial expertise in a variety of functions to enable it to rationalize costs and stabilize sales revenues."

The basic alliance agreement between ANA and Air Do is essentially a contract whereby the basic foundation of airline operations will be entrusted to ANA in order for both to realize greater efficiencies on a larger scale of economy. The items of which will be implemented individually and successively. 

Code-share

- Apply the ANA code designator to all six roundtrip flights operated by Air Do between Tokyo (Haneda) and Sapporo (Chitose) starting February, 2003.

- ANA will purchase 50% of Air Do's seating capacity utilizing a hard-block method.

- Establishment of fares and seat allocation to be managed independently

ANA able (Reservations, Ticketing, Boarding and Settlement System)

- Air Do to switchover to ANA's able system.

- Reservations and ticketing start December, 2002.

- Boarding and settlement functions start February, 2003.

- Reservations and ticketing on Air Do flights expanded to all travel agencies (approx. 800, approx. 6,500 machines installed) contracted to use the able system throughout Japan.

- ANA Reservations Center to handle Air Do flights beginning December, 2002, significantly increasing answering hours and other performance percentages.

- Check-in and ticketing on Air Do flights will be possible at ANA manned and automated check-in and ticketing counters at both Tokyo's Haneda and Sapporo's Chitose airports in addition to services already provided at Air Do's counters starting February 2003.

Aircraft Maintenance Operations

- Implementation starts October 2002

- Introduction of aircraft commonality, Air Do to receive access to spare engine parts from ANA fleet of over 50 Boeing 767 aircraft.

- Transfer of heavy engine and other maintenance operations to ANA.

Other

- Joint aircraft parts purchasing, flight and cabin crew training and shared use of training facilities.