Here's the long-awaited announcement: the ANA Milan Tokyo flight becomes daily and the new FX cabins arrive in the middle 26

All Nippon Airways has released its schedule for the coming year and, for the Italian market, the key news is one: Tokyo Haneda-Milano Malpensa flight will become daily in the second half of winter 2026.

As stated by Koji Shibata, CEO of All Nippon Airways. At TFC last year, it was a matter of time and machines before Japan's largest airline raised frequencies to Milan, and now that it is clear that the new machines will enter the fleet by the summer, that box has been unpacked and for the December peak ANA will connect Italy with Japan with one flight a day.

No new routes, no new European cities: rather, ANA is focusing on targeted frequency strengthening and fleet upgrading, confirming Milan as the only Italian gateway and one of the strategic European airports in the network. 

Overall, the Japanese company will increase international capacity to the 105% compared with the previous year, modulating supply with seasonal routes (such as Narita-Vancouver) and more frequencies on routes with solid demand. Within this framework, Milan moves from non-daily connection to daily service, but only starting in the second half of FY2026-a prudent choice that reflects ANA's very conservative approach to post-pandemic growth.

The new cabins on the Boeing 787-9: "THE Room FX" arrives.

One of the real qualitative novelties of 2026 concerns the arrival of the new Boeing 787-9, whose first deliveries are scheduled for August 2026. These planes will be equipped with the new cabins, starting with Business Class "THE Room FX", an evolution of the already excellent "THE Room" introduced on 777-300ERs.

According to ANA's announcement, we will find on board the new 787-9s:

• new business class seats "THE Room FX"
• new seats in Premium Economy
• new seats in Economy Class

The routes on which these aircraft will be deployed have not yet been announced, but it is to be expected that, at least at an early stage, they will be deployed on peak long haul routes. It remains to be seen whether and when Milan will benefit from these next-generation cabins.

New Boeing 737-8s for short and medium haul

On the domestic and regional front, ANA will also introduce new Boeing 737-8, with deliveries scheduled from June 2026. These aircraft will strengthen the company's narrowbody fleet, improving operational efficiency, fuel economy and comfort on Japanese domestic flights and some Asian short-haul routes.

Again, ANA has not yet released details on cabin configurations or interiors, but the arrival of the 737-8s is part of a broader strategy of fleet renewal and onboard product standardization.

Prudent growth, little new and focus on quality

The message that clearly emerges from the statement is that ANA is not seeking aggressive expansion, but a gradual strengthening of the existing network. For Europe-and for Italy in particular-the only concrete news, therefore, is. the daily flight to Milan, while the real leap forward will come more on the product side than the geographic side, with the new cabins on the 787s and the entry of the 737-8s.

For those who frequently fly between Italy and Japan, the daily over Malpensa is undoubtedly good news. Now it only remains to be seen whether ANA will also decide to "reward" Milan with new 787-9s and THE Room FX Business Class.