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- Efforts of ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS CO., LTD (ANA)
Efforts of ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS CO., LTD (ANA) Shiodome City Center, 1-5-2 Higashishinbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo
Built on a foundation of security and trust, “the wings within ourselves” help to fulfill the hopes and dreams of an interconnected world.
For all passengers to enjoy comfortable air travel with peace of mind
The difficulty, inconvenience, and anxiety of travel can be pointed to as some of the troubles faced by persons with disabilities. The airline company, ANA is carrying out various endeavors to enable such persons to travel smoothly with peace of mind. We spoke with Ms. Imaizumi and Mr. Ota from the CX Strategy Department about a representative example of the many efforts that are being made.
Striving to achieve “comfortable skies for everyone”
Since its establishment in 1952, ANA has provided air transportation services while placing priority on safe operations. Recently, with the aim of achieving a sustainable society that values diversity, we have been focusing on customer diversity and are accelerating the provision of universal services to realize comfortable skies for everyone..
First, we are taking measures related to tangible aspects that include facilities and support aids at airports and on aircraft. As an example, there are dedicated airport counters (Special Assistance Counters) for customers needing assistance, such as persons with disabilities and persons who are pregnant. These are established at all 50 airports in Japan and feature a low counter to accommodate customers that include people who use wheelchairs, as well as services such as reclining wheelchairs for persons unable to maintain a sitting position, plastic (non-metal) wheelchairs that won’t set off metal detectors, and remote sign-language interpreting. On board, lavatories have been installed (on some types of aircraft) that are wheelchair accessible for persons using an in-flight wheelchair.
We have prepared support services not only for persons using a wheelchair, but for any individual who has various difficulties. For details, you can view “Customers with disabilities” on the ANA website. As the accommodations available may depend on the airport or aircraft equipment, we are able to provide the best support when customers consult with us before their flight.
Furthermore, we are making company-wide efforts to promote accessible tourism, and the verification experiment and social implementation of Universal MaaS, which enables people to travel seamlessly not only in airports and on aircraft, but outside the airport as well. We are aiming to contribute to the realization of a society where persons with disabilities can travel in comfort without having to think twice.
Second, we are making efforts to improve intangible aspects, including educating Group employees to enable plans and services that better support our customers. It goes without saying that we carry out training and education that allows reception staff to learn the knowledge and skills necessary to suitably assist customers with disabilities, but we have also held the educational “Mental Barrier-free Seminars” since 2018 for all Group employees, executives and staff alike regardless of profession, with the goal of deepening understanding of the psychological barriers felt by people with disabilities. Though the seminars were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, we took advantage of the Tokyo Accessible Tourism Promotion Seminar in 2023 to hold the 15th seminar face-to-face for the first time in three years. We heard directly from a lecturer who is a person with a disability, and through a lively exchange of opinions that included online participants, we were able to further deepen understanding of disabilities. Those staff who participated said they were truly looking forward to creating new experiences and joys with customers who want to travel again and choose ANA.
In addition, we have continued to hold the “ANA Sorapass Class (Flight Support Class)” since 2018 for everyone at schools for special needs education that will use or are considering using an ANA flight for a school or group trip. This is held by staff who actually go to a school and hold a practice class to prepare students to take an ANA flight. The endeavor was inspired by a phone call received from a teacher at a special-needs school in 2017 who requested we hold a class in advance. Wanting to satisfy that request, the Sorapass Class began when the staff who received that phone call went to the school and held a class. We learned that some children with a developmental disorder may have difficulty predicting what comes next or panic when something unexpected happens, and that many people give up on traveling out of concern about the environment particular to airports and airplanes. With that in mind, we decided to make a simulation of the security checkpoint the main curriculum of the program for students with intellectual and developmental disorders. One by one, students get hands-on experience with the real security checkpoint process. We hope that experiencing a simulated security checkpoint and interacting with security staff will help eliminate surprises and anxiety by supplementing matters which cannot imagine enough.
For people such as customers who are riding an airplane for the first time or are anxious about the in-cabin environment they are unaccustomed to, the Sorapass Book and Sorapass Video are available on the website.
We want to create new encounters and connections among people, goods, and experiences around the world
The COVID-19 pandemic that began in early spring 2020 became an unprecedented occurrence that left airport lobbies and airplanes deserted for a long time. With no end in sight, as we explored daily how we could be of service as an airline company, we implemented actions such as online sales of in-flight meals and chartered flights using the A380 aircraft, the FLYING HONU. At the time, many customers said they were eagerly awaiting the day they could travel by airplane, which gave all our employees motivation to move forward.
Now that the pandemic is over, we once again have opportunities to meet our customers. Today, when we have reached this time that all our employees were looking forward to, we have a new awareness of the important role of the air transportation business and of our gratitude for being a part of it.
Under the theme of achieving “comfortable skies for everyone,” ANA will continue to be a bridge for diverse customers worldwide and to take up the challenge of creating new value.
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