Japan has been easing COVID-19 restrictions. This decision has had a positive effect on overall travel to and from Japan, with domestic passengers reaching 90% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. 

ANA has seen their domestic passengers rise 35.1% from 15.1 million at 58.9% load factor last year to a whopping 20.4 million, at a load factor of 69.2%. ANA has stated that business travel has yet to recover in Japan due to weather-related concerns, impacting operations and other domestic services. 

ANA's Financial Results

ANA Holdings, the parent company of All Nippon Airways, has seen a great H1 for 2023, with 3.47 million international passengers flown compared to 1.7 million last year. With a record profit margin of 12.9%, ANA has seen some great improvement in its operating profit, generating an astonishing $865M, a record operating profit in the past six months ending Sep 30, 2023. 

ANA shareholders will be cheerful with the company's performance. As a result of the great opportunity the company has had since COVID-19, the investors will be receiving dividends for the first time in 5 years as the company's net profit quadrupled from the previous year to $620 million. 

What is Behind ANA's Strong Performance?

With Japan's relaxation of COVID rules, the country has seen a rapid rise in passenger numbers, with Japan making great efforts to capture transiting passengers between North America, China, and other Asian countries. 

Airlines are also looking to up their leisure demand in Japan by expanding their operations. This can be seen in ANA's talks about launching new Euro-Japan routes, with destinations such as Haneda to Stockholm, Haneda to Milan, Haneda to Istanbul, and Haneda to Moscow. 

The Future of Japan's Air Travel 

With such a great outlook for ANA, let's dive into the organization's other LCC service, Peach Aviation. 

With most of Japan's air travel back to normal operations, ANA is not the only one to bounce back. Peach Aviation, a subsidiary of ANA Holdings Inc., has seen some great improvements as well, with their revenue rising by 65%. The airline has flown 4.7 million passengers with a load factor of 86.4%, compared to 6 million at 69.8% in 2022. 

With all international routes restored from and to Tokyo and Osaka, the airline has seen a drastic improvement primarily driven by increasing leisure demand on domestic flights.