NCA Brings B747-400F Cargo Plane Upkeep In House
July 2, 2007
NYK affiliate Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. (NCA; head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; president: Tadamasa Ishida) has brought the maintenance of its Boeing B747-400F cargo planes under its own corporate roof. Previously, the fleet had been serviced by All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. (ANA; head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; president: Mineo Yamamoto). The switch took place on July 1, three days after NCA received certification for the work from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Setup of in-house maintenance of the B747-400Fs is one substantive result of NCA's Phoenix Project, the company's mid-term business plan that aims to build an independent and global business system, update equipment, and streamline the company's income and expense structure.
A ceremony marking the transfer of responsibility took place today at Narita International Airport. ANA board member and executive vice president for engineering and maintenance Hiroyuki Ito handed the symbol of maintenance service, a golden wrench, to Takuzo Nomura, NCA's managing director for engineering and maintenance management.
Mr. Ishida expressed his gratitude to the attendees and discussed the decision. "We want to express our appreciation to ANA, which has supported us for 22 years since the launch of our service. We will work hard to preserve and extend the safety orientation and high maintenance quality passed to us from ANA.
"We intend to enhance the in-house maintenance systems in furtherance of our Phoenix Project by preparing effectively for the 2009 installation of new aircraft maintenance services, to embrace both the B747-400F and the large next-generation Boeing 747-8 cargo models currently under development. We are also moving to gradually achieve operational and IT independence, with the assurance of safe operation."
Former NCA chairman Takao Kusakari, (NYK chairman), then added his own expressions of appreciation for ANA's maintenance work over the years.
NCA is working to further improve its customer services, with the target of becoming the world leader in on-time flight departures among in house maintenance departments, always with the basic premise of safe operation.
