Becoming a member of Star Alliance in 1998 was a major milestone for the ANA Group in forming its current global network. The amendment of the Civil Air Transport Agreement between Japan and the United States in 1998 allowed ANA to join Star Alliance as its ninth member. Membership at a relatively early stage was very meaningful for ANA. At the time, ANA’s international operations were much smaller in scale than they are today. It was difficult to expand our own network due to limited arrival and departure slots. Even though membership in Star Alliance was an effective means of enhancing our network, resistance to joining the alliance existed within ANA, as no one realized the benefits that ANA could gain from being a member of the alliance would be as enormous as they are today.

Nonetheless, from 1999 onward, the ANA Group expanded its network globally through successful code codesharing arrangements with Star Alliance members. Coupled with the increase in arrival and departure slots at Narita Airport in 2002, revenues from our international network rose dramatically.

The airline industry is always exposed to various risks resulting from global, political and economic conditions and social phenomena, especially in international operations. During the 2000s, the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, the start of the Iraq War and the outbreak of SARS and avian influenza in 2003, the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 and the H1N1 influenza pandemic were among the events that significantly depressed demand in the international market. However, the ANA Group managed to overcome the challenges in its operating environment.

A key reason we were able to do so was that we made effective use of the networks of Star Alliance member carriers during the process of expanding the scale of our international business, and did not depend solely on our own flight operations. We did not simply target passenger demand for round-trip travel on our own direct flights between city pairs, but also paid attention to passengers who transit to and from the original departure point where we do not have the network to connect our flights. Thus we effectively built a global network through our alliance partner carriers, which added more destinations, and we were able to pick up more traffic. This helped us to rapidly increase our international network while minimizing volatility risk.

In 2011, the ANA Group’s alliance strategy took a new step forward. Upon receiving ATI approval, in April 2011 we joined with United and Continental2 in launching the Transpacific Joint Venture covering the Pacific network. In April 2012, we joined with Lufthansa3 to initiate the LH/NH Joint Venture covering the Europe–Japan network.

Thus the ANA Group has established an alliance strategy framework that consists of Star Alliance, Joint Ventures and bilateral relationships with airlines outside the alliance. Our basic approach is to move forward within a soundly structured portfolio encompassing these three types of alliances to enhance our network and strengthen profitability.
2. United Airlines and Continental Airlines merged in October 2011 and unified their flight codes to UA in March 2012.
3. Swiss International Airlines and Austria Airlines merged into the Lufthansa Group in April 2013.

Through our global alliance, we have always maintained a favorable relationship with Star Alliance members while leveraging the strength of the Star Alliance brand to expand our operating revenues. The ANA Group believes that it is important to contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of Star Alliance by influencing its strategic direction.

I was seconded to Star Alliance GmbH, the de facto headquarters of Star Alliance, for four years. I felt that the ANA Group has an important role and responsibilities to fulfill within the alliance. For example, ANA Group Senior Executive Vice President Keisuke Okada chairs the Alliance Management Board, and the ANA Group continuously provides personnel to Star Alliance GmbH. I would say that the ANA Group has a high-profile presence in Star Alliance.

On becoming a Star Alliance member, each airline must meet almost 70 standards that comprise regulations, service standards and system requirements. However, quality and consistency in service have become a concern because the number of members has increased to 28 and in some cases service has not been up to par. One focus of the alliance for the past few years has been correcting these issues in order to better serve our customers. There is a high expectation for the ANA Group to lead the alliance to superior quality with its meticulous customeroriented service.

The alliance is also working toward shared terminal use to improve convenience for connecting passengers on Star Alliance member flights and deliver seamless air travel. We call it the “Move Under One Roof” project, and I would say it is one of the alliance’s most important projects. Star Alliance members consolidated their operations at the South Wing of Terminal 1 at Narita Airport in June 2006, which was the first experience of sharing the use of a terminal in the world within a global alliance. Currently, the alliance is focusing on the shared use of the terminal at Heathrow Airport in London. Our application for collocation of alliance members under one roof was accepted in December 2012, and we are preparing for joint operation of this terminal.

Improving the quality of Star Alliance certainly supports the competitiveness of the ANA Group. We are fully committed to contributing to Star Alliance initiatives to increase the brand value of Star Alliance.