was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

based in

Tokoname is a Cities of Japan, city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,872 in 24,872 households, and a population density of 1,035 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Tokoname is located on ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It operated passenger services as

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

(ANA) flights from its main base is

Chūbu Centrair International Airport is an international airport on an artificial island (which also houses the ) in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan. The airport covers about 470 hectares (1,161 acres) of land and has one runway. ...

near

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

. On October 1, 2010, Air Central,

Air Next was a low-cost airline based on the grounds of Fukuoka Airport in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan and a wholly owned subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA). It operated domestic services from its main base at Fukuoka Airport. ...

and

Air Nippon Network , or A-net, was an airline based on the grounds of Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. It operated feeder services for parent Air Nippon, itself a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA). Its main base was New Chitose Airport. ...

were merged and rebranded as

ANA Wings ANA Wings Co., Ltd. (ANAウイングス株式会社 ''ANA Uingusu Kabushiki gaisha'') is a regional airline with its corporate headquarters at Itami Airport near Osaka, Japan and a wholly owned subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA).

History

In 1953, Nakanihon Air Service (NAS) was founded near Nagoya Airport (now

Nagoya Airfield , also known as Komaki Airport or Nagoya Airport, is an airport within the local government areas of Toyoyama, Komaki, Kasugai and Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Prior to 2005 it was an international airport, but is now a domestic secon ...

). Its major shareholders included

Nagoya Railroad , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the ''Panorama Car Super'', both of whic ...

and ANA. Its core business was

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

, including scenic and charter flights,

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other flight, airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wi ...

and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

services. It still operates as a general aviation company. Nakanihon Airlines was founded on May 12, 1988. It was headquartered in Nagoya Airport and was a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between Nagoya Railroad and ANA. Commuter services began operations on 23 April 1991. On February 17, 2005, NAL was renamed to the current name and was relocated to

Chubu Centrair International Airport is an international airport on an artificial island (which also houses the ) in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan. The airport covers about 470 hectares (1,161 acres) of land and has one runway. ...

. The flight schedules were amended for convenience of domestic and international flight changeover there. These moves were made for ANA's wish to feed international flights from Centrair operated by ANA and its

Star Alliance Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...

partners.

Destinations

As of April 2007, Air Central served the following destinations on the Japanese islands of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

and

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

. Between Nagoya-Centrair and: *

Fukuoka Airport — formerly known as Itazuke Air Base — is an international airport located east of Hakata Station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. The facility has two runways and covers 355 hectares (877 acres) of land. Fukuoka Airport is the principal a ...

(FUK),

Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered th ...

Fukushima Airport is an airport in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The airport is located southeast of Kōriyama Station. It has served as the regional airport hub since its opening in 1993, the closest alternative being Sendai International Airport. F ...

(FKS),

Tamakawa, Fukushima 270px, Tamakawa, Roadside Station is a village located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 6,497 in 2143 households, and a population density of 140 per km². The total area of the village was . Geography ...

near Koriyama *

Matsuyama Airport is an airport located west-southwestAIS Japan
of the center of

(MYJ),

Matsuyama, Ehime 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, in Japan and is also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243,541 h ...

Narita International Airport , also known as Tokyo-Narita International Airport or simply Narita Airport, formerly and originally known as , is the secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the only other one being Haneda Airport (HND). It is about e ...

(NRT),

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

, 70 kilometres from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Niigata Airport is an international airport located northeast of Niigata Station in Niigata, Japan. History The first airport on the Sea of Japan coast of Japan was opened on an island in the Shinano River in 1929. This airport was moved to what was then ...

(KIJ),

Niigata, Niigata is a city located in the northern part of Niigata Prefecture (). It is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, and one of the cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, located in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is ...

Tokushima Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Matsushige, Tokushima, Japan, near the city of Tokushima. In addition to scheduled passenger operations, the airport is the base of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tokushima Air Training Group ...

(TKS), Matsushige, Tokushima near

Tokushima city is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 245,264 in 122,539 households and a population density of 1,280 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

* Yonago Airport (Miho Airbase YGJ),

Sakaiminato, Tottori is a city in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,012 in 13178 households and a population density of 1110 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Sakaiminato is located in far western Totto ...

near

Yonago is a Cities of Japan, city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 146,139 in 68,534 households and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is the prefecture's second ...

Between

Osaka International Airport , often referred to as , is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including its major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is the airport closest to Osaka, being 11 km (7 mi) north of Ōsaka Station, Osaka Stati ...

(ITM) Itami, Ōsaka and: * Kochi Airport (KCZ),

Nankoku, Kōchi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 46‚459 in 22499 households and a population density of 370 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nankoku is loc ...

*Matsuyama Airport *Niigata Airport Between Fukuoka Airport and: *Goto-Fukue Airport (FUJ),

Gotō, Nagasaki is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It comprises the south-west half of the Gotō Islands plus (uninhabited) Danjo and Hizen Torishima archipelagos in the East China Sea. Although the core islands of the city lay some 100 kilometers fro ...

*Tsushima Airport (TSJ),

Tsushima, Nagasaki is an island Cities of Japan, city grouped in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the only city of Tsushima Subprefecture and it encompasses all of Tsushima Island, which lies in the Tsushima Strait north of Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki on the west ...

It also operated the

Sendai Airport is an international airport located in Natori of Miyagi Prefecture, south-southeast of Sendai, Japan. The airport is the largest in Tōhoku region. The airport's annual passenger numbers have been around 3.6 million in recent years, competi ...

(SDJ), near

Sendai, Miyagi is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the twelfth most populated city in Japan. The modern city was founded in 1600 by th ...

(NRT) route.

Fleet

The Air Central fleet included (as of March 2007): *3

Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner manufactured and supported by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of t ...

(All have been repainted in the livery of ANA prior to retirement) *2

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Longvi ...

(progressively leased and carrying the livery of ANA which is later transferred to

)

References

External links

Air Central
{{Airlines of Japan Defunct airlines of Japan All Nippon Airways Airlines established in 1988 Airlines disestablished in 2010 Companies based in Aichi Prefecture Japanese companies established in 1988 Japanese companies disestablished in 2010