ANA, HACS and Sojitz Create Pilot Leasing Company; New Company CReW to Address ANA Pilot Needs and Worldwide Flight Crew Demand.

Tokyo, Japan, Aug 18, 2006 - (JCN Newswire) - In a tripartite joint venture designed to address the increasing pilot needs of the ANA Group and other airlines around the world, the Honolulu based crew leasing company Hawaii Aviation Contract Services (HACS), Japanese airline ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Japanese trading corporation Sojitz today established a new flight crew leasing company.

The new company, Crew Resources Worldwide, L.L.C. (CReW) will be based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The President of CreW will be Frank Tabata, former CEO of HACS. Its main objective will be to provide highly skilled pilots for ANA Group airlines in anticipation of the expansion of Tokyo's Haneda Airport in 2009 and to address the need for highly qualified flight crews worldwide.

"CReW expects to maximise the experience and expertise of each of its partners to provide the best possible solution with the greatest efficiency to its customers. For ANA Group, this means supplying flight crews trained to our exacting standards where and when we need them," said Mitsuo Morimoto, ANA Executive Vice President, Flight Operations. "To achieve its ambitious goals, CReW is also in talks with The Boeing Company and Boeing subsidiary Alteon, which specialises in pilot training on a global scale. The talks are about marketing and training agreements, which will allow CReW to provide unsurpassed quality, standards and global reach."

Commenting on the joint venture, CReW President Frank Tabata said, "This is the first time that an established flight crew leasing company has teamed up with major players such as ANA, Sojitz and Alteon. We look forward to working together with our new partners in helping both established airlines and new entrants solve the problem of finding highly qualified crews to operate their equipment safely and efficiently."

Jimmy Katsura, Senior Vice President Sojitz Corporation, added, "The industry is expecting a severe shortage of pilots in the near future, so we are excited to be part of CReW and to provide highly skilled flight crews to not only ANA Group airlines but airlines worldwide. We are particularly expecting demand from China, Asia and the Middle East, where strong airline growth is in evidence."

The total capital investment in CReW by the three partners is US$1,000,000, with HACS holding 34%, and ANA and Sojitz holding 33% each.

About All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

All Nippon Airways, or ANA (TSE: 9202), came into existence in 1952, and over 50 years later is now one of the 10 largest airlines in the world, carrying with its sister companies almost 50 million passengers every year to 49 destinations in Japan, and to 22 overseas cities in Asia, Europe and the United States. As a member of Star Alliance, the world's foremost airline alliance, ANA passengers enjoy access to a network of over 790 airport destinations in 138 countries, and reciprocal benefits such as mileage accrual and redemption, and lounge access. For more information, please visit www.ana.co.jp.

About Sojitz Holdings Corporation

The Sojitz Group was essentially formed through the business integration between Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation, two companies with over a century of history. This business integration took shape in December 2002 and was followed on April 1, 2003, by the incorporation of a joint holding company. As a public listed company, this holding company was incorporated to pursue business integration, management supervision and comprehensive disclosure. Heralding a new era, the principal operating arms of the Group, Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation were merged to form a new single entity, Sojitz Corporation on April 1, 2004. For more information, please visit www.sojitz.com.

Source: All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.Sojitz Holdings Corporation

Contact:

CReW
Frank Tabata
[e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

Sojitz Public Relations
Tomoko Kato
[e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

ANA Public Relations
Rob Henderson
[e-mail],
Tel: [phone]

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