All Nippon Airways (ANA) is expanding its European network with three new routes as inbound tourism to Japan continues to rebound strongly.
Istanbul, Milan and Stockholm will be added to the carrier’s network during the forthcoming northern winter 2024-25 season, increasing the Star Alliance member’s route map in Europe to nine destinations. The airline currently flies to five cities in the region, with service to Vienna due to restart in August.
“These new routes reflect ANA’s commitment to meet the increasing demand for travel between Japan and each country,” ANA President and CEO Shinichi Inoue says. “We hope this expansion provides our travelers with greater choice, new customer experiences and reinforces our commitment to a seamless and enjoyable journey.”
From Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND), ANA will serve Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) from Dec. 3 using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Flights to Stockholm Alanda Airport (ARN) will commence on Jan. 31, 2025, onboard 787-8s, while operations to Istanbul Airport (IST) start on Feb. 12 with 787-8s. All three routes will receive three roundtrip flights per week.
ANA previously served Milan until the late 1990s, but Istanbul and Stockholm are new points for the carrier. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Tokyo-Istanbul is the only sector to receive nonstop service at present, with Turkish Airlines offering daily flights from IST to both HND and Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT).
Alitalia, the predecessor to Italy’s ITA Airways, also served the MXP-NRT market daily until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. However, the cities have remained unserved since flights were suspended.
Although IST is a hub for ANA’s fellow Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines—with Star carriers accounting for 80% of capacity from the airport in July 2024—more than two-thirds of the capacity from MXP is provided by unaligned airlines. Onward connectivity will also be more limited at ARN as Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which accounts for about 30% of all departures from the airport, is in the process of switching from Star to SkyTeam.
However, Swedavia, which operates ARN, says the arrival of ANA demonstrates confidence in the Swedish market. “ANA will play an important role in connecting Sweden to Japan and other well-established markets in Asia,” Swedavia President and CEO Jonas Abrahamsson adds.
Japan is Sweden’s second-largest trading partner in Asia, with close to 150 Swedish companies operating there. Sweden, in turn, is the largest Nordic export market for Japan, and roughly 180 Japanese companies have operations in Sweden.
The planned launch of ANA’s new European services comes as Japan reported a strong increase in foreign visitors during the first six months of 2024, reaching a record 17.78 million. The previous January-June record was set in 2019 with 16.63 million arrivals.
The Japan National Tourism Organization says South Korea was the largest source market with 4.4 million visitors during the first half of 2024, followed by China, Taiwan and the U.S. Japan welcomed 25 million visitors during 2023 and has aspirations of hitting 60 million annually by 2030. The weakened Japanese yen is contributing to the latest rise.
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