Japan's largest airline bets big on the newly axed Airbus A380

Just as a tide of cancelled orders has prompted Airbus to halt production of the A380 superjumbo, Japan’s biggest airline is betting it can succeed where others have failed -- by filling the luxurious double-deckers with tourists flying to Hawaii. Starting May 24, ANA Holdings has scheduled three flights a week from Tokyo to Honolulu on the 520-seat behemoths, painted in a special sea-turtle theme. The carrier will bring on two more A380s for the Hawaii service by August, ANA President Yuji Hirako said, adding that reservations for the route are already more than 40% higher than a year ago. The plan leaves ANA as the only passenger line with A380s on order, other than Dubai-based Emirates, which has been the plane’s mainstay airline. The aircraft -- which wowed travelers with in-flight showers, bedrooms and bars but was too big to win over most carriers -- may help ANA close the Hawaii market-share gap with JAL. Still, some question whether the carrier can keep filling the plane once the novelty wears off. “ANA is spending a lot on advertising, so they will initially be able to fill the planes, but in coming years, it may get harder to consistently sell all the seats,” said Yasuo Hashimoto, chief researcher at Japan Aviation Management Research. Even with the added capacity, <br/>