All Nippon Airways to collaborate with Toyota Industries to trial advanced automatic towing tractor at Chubu (Nagoya) Centrair International Airport

All Nippon Airways to collaborate with Toyota Industries to trial advanced automatic towing tractor at Chubu (Nagoya) Centrair International Airport

  • ANA continues to emphasize development of autonomous technologies with collaboration.
  • Tests to build on insight gained from previous trials at Kyushu-Saga International Airport.

Tokyo, Japan, 2020-Feb-12 — /Travel PR News/ — All Nippon Airways (ANA, Japan’s largest and 5-Star airline for seven consecutive years, will collaborate with Toyota Industries Corporation (Toyota Industries) to conduct tests of an advanced automatic towing tractor at Chubu (Nagoya) Centrair International Airport from February 10 to 14. The airport was selected because it hosted over 100,000 departures and arrivals in fiscal 2018, meaning that logistics operations must be performed at the highest standards. The tests are designed to provide the necessary safety and performance data to ensure that the tractor will be able to handle a variety of real world situations when it is put into service. The development of this autonomous tractor is the latest example of ANA embracing innovative technology to increase convenience and improve service for its passengers.

“ANA wants to be a leader in the latest technological breakthroughs, and the testing of the autonomous tractor with Toyota Industries fits right in with our heritage of innovation,” said Shinichi Abe, Executive Vice President of ANA. “We will continue looking for ways to make the travel experience more efficient and reliable. We are proud to work with Toyota Industries, a company that also places an emphasis on excellence and innovation.”

The partnership between ANA and Toyota Industries is part of a venture to promote aviation innovation by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in response to anticipated labor shortages that will be the result of a declining population coupled with increased production. By working to automate baggage and cargo handling operations, ANA is promoting efficient airport ground support operations, aiming to create an easy and comfortable working environment for all with less labor and personnel. Based on the results of the tests, ANA will work to commercialize them within fiscal 2020.

Both ANA and Toyota Industries are committed to developing automation and sophistication of logistics in all industries including aviation.

ANA will continue pushing itself to achieve at a higher standard and will adopt innovative approaches so that it is better equipped to continually improve the travel experience for its passengers.

About ANA

Following the “Inspiration of Japan” high quality of service, ANA has been awarded the respected 5-Star rating every year since 2013 from SKYTRAX. ANA is the only Japanese airline to win this prestigious designation seven years in a row. Additionally, ANA has been recognized by Air Transport World as “Airline of the Year” three times in the past 10 years – 2007, 2013 and 2018, becoming one of the few airlines winning this prestigious award for multiple times.

ANA was founded in 1952 with two helicopters and has become the largest airline in Japan, as well as one of the most significant airlines in Asia, operating 78 international routes and 118 domestic routes. ANA offers a unique dual hub model which enables passengers to travel to Tokyo and connect through the two airports in the metropolitan Tokyo, NARITA and HANEDA, to various destinations throughout Japan, and also offers same day connections between various North American, Asian and Chinese cities.

ANA has been a member of Star Alliance since 1999 and has joint venture partnerships with United Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines.

In addition to the full service and award-winning record of ANA, the ANA Group’s subsidiary Peach Aviation Limited is the leading LCC in Japan, and has expanded following the integration of Vanilla Air in late 2019. ANA Group carried 54.4 million passengers in FY2018, has approximately 43,000 employees and a fleet of 260 aircraft. ANA is a proud launch customer and the biggest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

For more information, please refer to the following link.
https://www.ana.co.jp/group/en/

Contact: 

ANA Corporate Communications
TEL +81-3-6735-1111
publicrelations@ana.co.jp

Source: ANA

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