ANA celebrates 30th anniversary of London-Tokyo route
Next Tuesday marks 30 years since All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan's largest and five-Star airline for seven consecutive years, first connected London with Tokyo.
To celebrate, ANA has co-curated a unique anniversary in-flight menu with celebrated London-based modern Japanese restaurant Yashin Ocean House, fusing authentic Japanese dishes with local British ingredients.
Since first landing into London in 1989, ANA has flown 68,043,300 air miles between the UK and Japanese capitals, with 20,749 flights, carrying a total of more than 4,351,518 passengers. ANA’s inaugural flight from Gatwick to Narita airport was the airline’s first route between Europe and Japan. Three decades later, ANA now operates daily service from London Heathrow to Haneda airport, and serves over seven cities in five countries on the continent, making it one of the leading airlines connecting Europe with a country ranked among the top travel destinations in the world.
Having served over four million meals since its inaugural London-Tokyo flight – including 114,060 miso soups and 18,120 black cod, the airline is celebrating the occasion with an in-flight menu combining locally sourced British ingredients with an authentic taste of Japan. Meticulously crafted by Shinya Ikeda, master chef at London’s Yashin Ocean House, and co-curated with ANA’s in-flight catering team, it features both light and full menus and includes a signature dish of simmered eel served with sushi rice in dashi soup.
The announcement comes after ANA revealed another East-meets-West collaboration earlier this month, with the global debut of its new first-class and business-class cabins on the London-Tokyo route from August. Designed by famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and leading British designers Acumen, ‘THE Suite’ in first-class and ‘THE Room’ in business-class have revolutionised the in-fight experience. Both feature the world’s first 4K resolution personal monitors on any commercial aircraft, while THE Suite delivers ANA’s most spacious fully enclosed seating ever and THE Room features one of the largest spaces in its class anywhere in the world and the airline’s first flexible doors for complete personal privacy.
Tatsuya Endo, Senior Vice President, EMEA & General Manager, London, All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA), said: “On 22nd July 2019 we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of our London-Tokyo route and would like to express our appreciation for our passengers’ support over the past years. Thirty years ago this was our only route between Europe and Japan. Fast forward to today and we have spread our wings over seven cities in five European countries. To herald this special occasion, we are excited to be collaborating with London’s Japanese restaurant, Yashin Ocean House, headed by master chef Shinya Ikeda, and hope our passengers enjoy this meticulously crafted, celebratory menu.”
The initiative forms part of ANA’s ‘We Are Japan’ programme, designed to create a deeper appreciation of the island nation and its culture – and to connect with those who share a passion for the best the country has to offer. The announcement comes amidst a growing spotlight shining on Japan, with the decade’s fastest-growing major destination continuing to set trends. They include Ikigai, a lifestyle concept described as the secret to a long and happy life – and food is an important part of the equation.
The anniversary is the latest in a long line of milestones for ANA since the airline began its London-Tokyo route in 1989. These include joining Star Alliance 10 years later in 1999 and receiving the SKYTRAX 5-Star ranking for the first time in 2012, which ANA still holds seven years on.