On July 26, ANA marked the 40th anniversary of its Tokyo–Washington, D.C. route.
The airline’s international service began with the Narita–Guam route, which launched on March 3, 1986, followed by the Narita–Los Angeles route on July 16 of the same year, and the Narita–Washington, D.C. route on July 26. Today’s flight to Washington Dulles International Airport marks the third route to conclude the company’s 40th anniversary year of international service.
ANA’s international network has now expanded to 55 routes serving 40 cities (including 19 routes serving 19 cities from Narita), and it is still fresh in our memory that the airline recently launched routes to Milan, Stockholm, and Istanbul between December 2024 and February 2025 (all departing from Haneda).
On this day, the Haneda–Washington flight (Flight NH102) departed from Gate 108A in Terminal 3. In addition to a special announcement expressing gratitude for the airline’s 40th anniversary, “Soracchi”—the mascot character, a fairy born from the union of an airplane and a cloud—made an appearance and posed for commemorative photos with passengers.
In addition, commemorative items (boarding passes, stickers, and flight tags) were distributed beyond the gate to celebrate the 40th anniversary. Flight NH102, which blocked out at 10:17 a.m.—slightly ahead of schedule—took off for North America at 10:36 a.m. with 176 passengers on board (out of a total of 184 seats).
© Source travel watch