Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) is a Japanesecargo airline with its head office on the property ofNarita International Airport inNarita,Chiba Prefecture, outside Tokyo. It operates scheduled cargo services in Asia and to Europe and North America. Its main base is Narita Airport.[3]
Nippon Cargo Airlines was established on September 27, 1978 (itshead office was initially a single room insideAll Nippon Airways' space at theKasumigaseki Building[4]) and started operations on May 8, 1985. It was Japan's first all-cargo airline.[3] Over time, their network has grown to include many cities on three continents. Initially, NCA was a joint venture of shipping companies headed byNippon Yusen and All Nippon Airways (ANA). In August 2005, ANA sold its stake to Nippon Yusen.[5]
The airline is owned by Nippon Yusen (100%). In March 2023, ANA announced plans to acquire NCA from Nippon Yusen to enhance ANA's freight operations.[6] The deal was delayed due to international regulatory concerns.[7]
In December 2010, NCA was selected to provide ground support services for theJapanese Air Force One aircraft, replacingJapan Airlines which was then in the process of retiring its 747 fleet.[8]
On August 1, 2025, ANA Holdings Inc. finalized the acquisition of all shares of Nippon Cargo Airlines from Nippon Yusen through a simplified share exchange.[9]
Nippon Cargo Airlines has its headquarters in the NCA Line Maintenance Hangar (NCAライン整備ハンガーNCA Rain Seibi Hangā) atNarita International Airport inNarita,Chiba Prefecture.[10][11] The hangar is within the engineering and maintenance complex at Narita Airport.[12] The facility has several environmentally friendly aspects, including a light wall, top lighting, naturally balanced wind power vent windows, a garden roof, asolar water heating system, and equipment to use rainwater to wash aircraft fuselages.[13]
In 2007 NCA signed a deal withNippon Steel Engineering, which historically built hangars for large aircraft, for the construction of a maintenance and engineering hangar at Narita.[14] The building was to have environmentally friendly procedures conducive to maintaining aircraft during the daytime, because NCA has its aircraft maintenance activities scheduled for daytime hours.[12] On April 30, 2009, the construction of the line maintenance hangar was completed. On June 8, 2009, the hangar's operations began.[15]
In July 1978, when the company first began, it operated within a single room insideAll Nippon Airways's space in theKasumigaseki Building inKasumigaseki,Chiyoda, Tokyo.[16] In March 1997 NCA moved its headquarters from the Shiroyama JT Mori Building (城山JT森ビルShiroyama JT Mori Biru) to the 10th floor of the New Kasumigaseki Building (新霞が関ビルShin Kasumigaseki Biru),[17] which had housed NCA's marketing division from 1987 to 1991. In March 2003, due to a demand for more space, the headquarters moved to theShiodome City Center inShiodome,Minato, Tokyo when it opened; the move was the fifth time the headquarters moved.[16] The airline had its headquarters and its East Japan sales office on the 8th floor.[18][19]
Currently the airline's corporate Tokyo office is in the Onarimon Yusen Building (御成門郵船ビルディングOnarimon Yūsen Biru) in Nishi-Shimbashi,Minato, Tokyo.[10][11] In 2008 the corporate Narita office was on the fourth floor of the Cargo Administration Building (貨物管理ビルKamotsu Kanri Biru).[20][21]
NCA opened a computer center inKoto, Tokyo in 2007, with the opening ceremony taking place on March 12, 2007. Previously the computer operations were done at the ANA computer center.[22][23] On October 9, 2007, the airline established its Global Operations Center at Terminal 2 ofNarita International Airport.[24] Some members of the technical section of the flight operations headquarters were immediately moved to the new center. In the northern hemisphere spring of 2008, crew-related sections were to be transferred to the new operations center.[25] In 2007 NCA signed an order withTaisei Corporation for the construction of a crew training center.[14] Construction on the crew center, located inShibayama,Sanbu District, was to begin in September 2007. The company scheduled for the facility to become operational in September 2008.[12] On May 6, 2011, the airline announced that it was relocating its local Narita offices and its cargo warehouse from Narita's north cargo area to Narita's south cargo area.[26]
On 9 June 2005 Nippon Cargo Airline's first Boeing 747-400F was delivered inEverett, Washington, the first of four ordered by the airline.[41]
In June 2006, NCA ordered two additionalBoeing 747-400F to eight that had already been ordered. These aircraft were delivered beginning in 2008 and replaced theBoeing 747-200F. By May 2009, the ten 747-400 had been delivered, but the last two were placed withCargo B Airlines, a Belgian operator which NCA owned shares of. Cargo B filed for bankruptcy in May 2009, and the two aircraft were placed into storage. Subsequently, both were leased (or possibly sold) toAirBridgeCargo Airlines.[citation needed]
In 2007 the airline had ordered 14 Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft and has taken delivery of eight examples. In 2015 it cancelled outstanding orders for four of the aircraft, but still retains options on two more. It is thought to be due to the downturn of cargo volumes in the Asia Pacific region.[42] In 2017, it cancelled the remaining two options of the aircraft, leaving the airline with no further unfulfilled aircraft orders.[43]
^ab"会社概要." Nippon Cargo Airlines. Retrieved on February 17, 2012. "本社（成田事務所）〒282-0011 千葉県成田市成田国際空港内 NCAライン整備ハンガー" - "本社" means headquarters in Japanese, and "東京事業所 〒105-0003 東京都港区西新橋三丁目23番5号 御成門郵船ビルディング11階"
^ab"Corporate Profile." Nippon Cargo Airlines. Retrieved on February 17, 2012. "NARITA OFFICE NCA Line Maintenance Hangar Narita International Airport Narita-shi, Chiba 282-0011, Japan" and "TOKYO OFFICE : Onarimon Yusen Bldg. 11F 3-23-5 Nishi-Shimbashi Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003, Japan"
^"Ecological Features for Environment Conservation." (Archive) Nippon Cargo Airlines. Retrieved on February 19, 2012. This is linked from "Environment-Friendly Line Maintenance Hanager with State-of-the-Art Technology Completed at Narita International Airport" so we know this has to do with the hangar.
^"第3章 先発企業グループへの." (Archive) Nippon Cargo Airlines. 108. Retrieved on February 17, 2012. "1997年3月にコスト抑制を主な目的として、城山JT森ビルから新霞が関ビル10階へと移転した。"
^"NCA Worldwide Offices." Nippon Cargo Airlines. August 9, 2004. Retrieved on February 17, 2012. "Head Office Shiodome City Center 8F 5-2, Higashi-Shinbashi, 1-Chome, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105-7108, Japan" and "East Japan Sales Office Shiodome City Center 8F 5-2, Higashi-Shinbashi, 1-Chome, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105-7108, Japan"
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