Transport

Beautiful Blues: A History of the Livery of ANA

From Norebbo:

The ANA livery is unique in that it’s one of the simplest – yet one of the classiest – in the airline business. This is my opinion of course, but it’s hard to deny that the colors of All Nippon Airways are beautiful (no matter what aircraft type they are painted on).

Consisting of just 4 colors (white, gray, and two different shades of blue), this livery extends the entire width of the fuselage in a striking “directional” wedge. Most importantly, it’s far more creative than the JAL livery.

Following on from the post about JAL’s history a few days ago, here is one about ANA’s livery from the same author. I do love those stripes.

A History of Japan Airlines Livery

From Norebbo:

Despite how simplistic you might think that the Japan Airlines livery is, it’s a perfect example of a clean and classy design evolution. Not much has changed since the early 1950s, and that’s what makes it so great.

Some beautiful recreations of JAL aircraft from the past to the present day. Excellent blog for aircraft nerds as well.

Plans to Develop Tokyo to Osaka Freight Conveyor Belt Announced

Julian Ryall from South China Morning Post:

Japan has announced plans to construct a network of hi-tech, automated conveyor belts to transport goods more than 500km between Tokyo and Osaka as a solution to a looming cargo logistics crisis.

The proposed network of massive conveyor belts, dubbed the Autoflow-Road, would use tunnels beneath major highways that link Japan’s two largest cities, as well as above-ground tracks in the middle of the roads. it is the brainchild of a panel at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

This is such a cool idea and a great way to get a lot of freight traffic off of roadways. Whether it actually gets built is another matter. 回転貨物。

Osaka Expo Mascot Myaku-Myaku on Japan Airlines Livery

From The Mainichi:

The plane is Japan Airlines' second Myaku-Myaku jet designated to fly abroad from Japan. On the aircraft, drinks are served in paper cups with the Myaku-Myaku design on them. The plane will fly until August next year to promote the expo to the world.

It is worth it to look up photos of this nightmare fuel. I can't believe that this character design made it past any kind of committee.

Fuel and Staff Shortages Force Foreign Carriers to Pull Out of Regional Airports

From Nikkei:

Australia's Qantas Airways has joined a number of carriers forgoing scheduling flights to and from regional Japanese airports as Japan faces a ground airport staff shortage and an acute fuel shortage also looms.

Earlier this year, Qantas had been assessing recommencing seasonal flying to Sapporo for the next ski season in Hokkaido in the north. But a specific plan did not materialize due to supplier constraints at the airport, including labor shortages. Qantas had discussions with local airport stakeholders but did not enter the government filing process, and thus did not schedule any flights.

The article cites closing domestic oil refineries and trucker shortages as the reasons for these decreases in service. Once those are addressed, one would hope that these carriers return, but there is no guarantee. For Sapporo and other destinations in Hokkaido especially, it would be a huge blow to tourism and connectivity for residents.

Luxury Domestic Travel on HondaJet

From Kyodo:

Japanticket Inc., one of the partners in the project, said it started to sell tours in which travelers will fly on HondaJets to Toyama, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures. These tours are aimed at foreign tourists, with ticket prices starting at 1.5 million yen ($9,500) per person.

Definitely out of my price range and definitely not the market for the common traveler. But this could be a first step to build out a domestic aircraft manufacturer that could complete with some markets.