When most people travel to Honolulu, the aircraft or airline they are flying on is typically last thing on their mind. They’re more interested in their tropical vacation and can’t get away from the airport fast enough. That’s not the case for us avgeeks though! And when I recently flew to Honolulu, I had only one goal in mind, and it didn’t involve leaving the airport. I wanted to fly All Nippon Airways’ Airbus A380–the Flying Honu.
A Journey On The Mighty A380 Flying Honu
It’s often forgotten that All Nippon even operates the A380. After all, they were the smallest A380 customer, having ordered only three examples. They were also the last airline to take delivery of the type, not accepting their first A380 until 2019. Also, since the three aircraft were ordered specifically for their Tokyo to Honolulu route, which effectively saw a 100% passenger decline at the onset of the pandemic, they sat mostly idle for an extended period of time.
the “Flying Honu”, as All Nippon calls them, were recently re-introduced on the Tokyo to Honolulu route. I had my eyes set on flying one of them! First, before we get to the flight, I should explain why they’re called “Flying Honu.”
ANA Specially Painted The Jets For Hawaiian Market
Since All Nippon intended to use these aircraft specifically on their Tokyo to Honolulu route, they chose to paint the aircraft in special sea turtle inspired liveries. Honu is the Hawaiian word for turtle and is more generally used to describe sea turtles. The three liveries are mostly identical with the only major difference being the primary colors used. Those three colors being blue, green, and orange.
My journey to Japan
On September 9, 2022, after arriving at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport onboard a United Airlines Boeing 777-200/ER, I made my way through the open-air corridors that Honolulu’s airport is famous for. Getting to a viewpoint overlooking the ramp just in time to see JA381A arrive at one of only two gates capable of handling the A380 at Honolulu.
Despite usually looking up what exact aircraft is scheduled to operate my flights, I had intentionally not looked to see which of the three A380’s would be operating this flight. So, this was the first time I was seeing the aircraft that would take me to Tokyo. JA381A is the blue Flying Honu and the first A380 delivered to All Nippon.
Enjoying the ANA Service In Row 67K!
Boarding commenced on time, and I made my way to seat 67K. An economy seat, directly behind the wing, on the main deck of the aircraft. I never heard how full the flight was, but I estimate it was around 50% full. There was no one in the middle seat next to me and there were quite a few open seats throughout the section of cabin I was seated in. It’s worth mentioning, that at the time, All Nippon was only operating the A380 on the route two days per week. According to online scheduling that appears to have increased to three days per week now and it appears to increase again in December to five days per week.
The onboard service from the flight attendants was excellent. the seat was very comfortable, and the food was great for an economy offering. Having never flown All Nippon before this flight, I now understand why they are consistently ranked as one of the top airlines in the world. Also, this flight reinforced that the A380 continues to be the most comfortable, passenger friendly aircraft to fly on. Nothing is more iconic than the 747, but even the 747 can’t beat the A380 in terms of passenger experience.
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Avgeek Bucket List Item Checked–The ANA Airbus A380 Flying Honu
7 hours and 39 minutes after the door closed in Honolulu, and far too quickly for my liking, we slammed down in Tokyo. If you so choose, you can watch the entire flight from start to finish in the video accompanying this article and there you can see exactly what I mean by “slammed” down in Tokyo. Let’s just say, it wasn’t the most graceful landing of all time.
With Japan reopening to tourists soon, and there begin considerably less red tape than when I took this flight, maybe I’ll attempt to take this flight again in the future to try to catch the green or orange Flying Honu.
