As part of ANA’s Care Promise initiative, the carrier is installing hands-free lavatory doors on 11 Boeing 787-8s, two 787-9s and eight 777-200s. Developed in partnership with Jamco, the doors will help reduce physical contact and the potential spread of pathogens.
On Wednesday (April 28, 2021), ANA announced the installation of the world’s first hands-free lavatory doors on 21 aircraft including 11 Boeing 787-8s, two 787-9s and eight 777-200s. The touchless solution was developed in partnership with Jamco Corporation and is part of ANA’s Care Promise initiative. The first hands-free doors will be introduced on domestic flights on May 1st, and they are designed to reduce physical contact and limit the potential spread of pathogens. The doors are equipped with a large inner door locking knob and an additional handle so customers can use their elbows to lock the door. Since the door is a new design, ANA has installed signage with operational instructions near the lavatory. The company hopes to introduce the doors on all international and domestic aircraft in the future.
In Wednesday’s announcement, ANA’s Senior Vice President – Customer Experience and Management Planning, Shinichi Inoue, said,
“Guided by the principles of ANA Care Promise, we have continued to invest in the development and implementation of innovative technologies because the health and safety of passengers and our staff is the top priority. The hands-free lavatory door is the latest example of us putting this principle into practice as we look for ways to make the travel experience safer and more convenient.”
Founded in 1952, ANA serves 82 international and 118 domestic destinations from their dual Tokyo hubs at Narita and Haneda airports. The carrier has been a Star Alliance partner since 1999 and currently has joint partnerships with United Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines. The ANA Group also owns Japanese low-cost carrier (LCC) Peach Aviation Limited. ANA has approximately 43,000 employees and operates a fleet of 260 aircraft. Additionally, the carrier was the launch customer and is the largest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Family aircraft.
Source: All Nippon Airways