ANA adds new partners to The Connoisseurs brand

TOKYO, July 25, 2014 - ANA is to welcome four new partners to its Connoisseurs brand next month to provide passengers on international flights departing Japan with a higher quality of service through the provision of unique food and drink choices developed by globally renowned chefs and other culinary professionals. The Connoisseurs brand was launched in September, 2013 and has already established a solid reputation among our passengers.

From September 2014 two more internationally-recognized chefs will provide Western dishes and two top Japanese chefs will provide Japanese dishes. The four new partners bring the total number of culinary professionals providing sophisticated in-flight food on ANA to 26.

The first of our new partners is Pierre Gagnaire (3 Michelin stars), a master of French cuisine well respected around the world for his rare artistry and creativity. Pierre has restaurants in cities around the world including London, Moscow and Dubai and has served Japanese customers through his restaurant at the ANA Intercontinental Tokyo hotel.

The second new international partner joining The Connoisseurs is Annie Feolde (3 Michelin stars) an internationally famous producer of Italian cuisine. She is the first female chef, and the first Italian food expert, to join The Connoisseurs team. In Japan, she has been running the Enoteca Pinchiorri restaurant in Nagoya.

Both Pierre and Annie have a long-standing relationship with Japan and a deep knowledge of Japan.

The third new member of The Connoisseurs team is the Japanese chef Toru Okuda (3 Michelin stars). Toru is working to spread the popularity of Japanese food around the world and last year opened a namesake restaurant in Paris. Okuda regularly features in the local French media.

The final new member of The Connoisseurs team is Masayoshi Nishikawa (2 Michelin stars), who is based in Kyoto and specializes in formal Japanese kaiseki cuipsine. Kyoto is known internationally as a cultural and tourist destination, and Nishikawa is one of the next generation of young chefs upholding the region's culinary traditions.

As Japan’s only 5-star airline, ANA iscommitted to providing a comprehensive range of Japanese dishes to our passengers worldwide. As traditional Japanese cuisine enjoys a higher profile of around the world, including recognition by UNESCO of as an intangible cultural heritage asset, we are stepping up these efforts.

Contact: Ryosei Nomura and Maho Ito, ANA Public Relations, TEL +81-3-6735-1111

About ANA:
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the eighth largest airline in the world by revenues (2012) and the largest in Japan by passenger numbers (2012). Founded in 1952, ANA flies today on 54 international routes and 111 domestic routes with a fleet of 236 aircraft. ANA has 14,000 employees. In 2012, it carried 45 million passengers and generated revenues of $15.8 bn. ANA has been a core member of Star Alliance since 1999 and has joint-ventures with United Airlines on trans-Pacific and Asia routes and with Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines on Japan-Europe routes. Its Frequent Flyer Program, ANA Mileage Club, has more than 26 million members. ANA was voted Airline of the Year for 2013 by Air Transport World Magazine, and was awarded five stars in 2013 and 2014 by the world's leading Airline and Airport review site, SKYTRAX. ANA is the launch customer and biggest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.