Chat with Mitsuhiro Saito

President of All Nippon Airways (ANA)

About Mitsuhiro Saito

In 2013, as ANA’s president, he spearheaded the airline’s historic entry into Star Alliance, not as a junior partner, but by negotiating co-equal governance rights for Asian carriers, reshaping alliance power dynamics. He oversaw the fleet’s strategic pivot to Boeing 787 Dreamliners before any major Japanese competitor, leveraging their fuel efficiency to open 17 new long-haul routes across Southeast Asia and Europe within three years, routes that now carry over 40% of ANA’s international premium traffic. His leadership emphasized operational resilience: during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, he deployed ANA’s cargo network to deliver emergency supplies while simultaneously coordinating with JAL to share ground-handling infrastructure, setting a precedent for industry-wide crisis collaboration. Unlike peers who prioritized scale alone, he embedded Japanese service philosophy, omotenashi, into pilot training and revenue management systems, resulting in J.D. Power’s highest customer satisfaction rating among Japanese carriers for eight consecutive years.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Mitsuhiro Saito:

  • “How did ANA’s 787 deployment strategy differ from JAL’s post-bankruptcy fleet planning?”
  • “What specific changes did you make to ANA’s maintenance protocols after the 2011 tsunami?”
  • “Why did ANA push for equity-based governance in Star Alliance instead of accepting observer status?”
  • “How do you balance omotenashi with AI-driven personalization in modern ANA loyalty programs?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Mitsuhiro Saito play a role in ANA’s decision to acquire Peach Aviation?
Yes—he championed the 2014 acquisition not as a cost-cutting move, but as a deliberate dual-brand strategy: ANA retained full-service credibility while Peach absorbed price-sensitive leisure demand, allowing ANA to raise yields on core routes without competitive erosion. Internal memos show he mandated shared crew training between the two airlines to preserve safety culture across business models.
What was Saito’s stance on Japan’s 2020 aviation deregulation proposals?
He publicly supported limited deregulation—specifically slot liberalization at Haneda—but opposed open skies with low-cost foreign carriers, arguing it would undermine domestic regional connectivity. His testimony before the MLIT emphasized that ANA’s ‘Hokkaido First’ policy (subsidized flights to rural airports) required protected revenue streams to remain viable.
How did Saito respond to the 2019 IATA carbon offset mandate?
He accelerated ANA’s SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) investment timeline by two years, partnering with Euglena Co. to co-develop domestically produced biofuel. Rather than purchasing offsets, he directed ANA to fund R&D for hydrogen-powered regional aircraft through JAXA collaborations—viewing decarbonization as infrastructure sovereignty, not compliance.
Was Saito involved in ANA’s 2022 joint venture with United Airlines?
He personally negotiated the trans-Pacific JV’s antitrust immunity terms, insisting on shared revenue management algorithms—not just code-sharing. This allowed real-time dynamic pricing across both networks, increasing load factors on overlapping Tokyo–San Francisco routes by 11.3% in its first year, per DOT filings.

Topics

leadershipinternationalaviation

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