How to Apply to ANA Holdings Inc.

11 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 4 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • ANA Holdings hires through at least four distinct portals (ANA mainline new-grad, ANA mid-career, Peach Aviation, AirJapan) — pick the right one before you apply.
  • Japanese-language fluency is a hard requirement for most roles; plan for JLPT N2 minimum and N1 for customer-facing work, plus a credible TOEIC or ICAO English score.
  • Cabin crew applicants face real physical and grooming standards (overhead-bin reach, no visible tattoos, conservative appearance); paper applications that ignore them do not survive the in-person round.
  • Pilot cadets sign a multi-year training bond (roughly ¥15-20M repayable); read the clawback terms before you sign, and never assume early exit is cheap.
  • The interview loop is Japanese-formal: recruit suit, bow at entry and exit, Japanese by default, conclusion-first answers, omotenashi examples at every stage.
  • Salary bands are moderate by US standards but durable: ANA cabin crew start around ¥3-4M total compensation, mainline corporate tracks reach ¥6-10M mid-career, and 787/777 captains earn roughly ¥18-30M annually depending on seniority and flying hours.
  • Post-COVID recovery is complete and ANA is hiring across mainline, Peach, and AirJapan — but the bar has risen, and candidates are now measured against a stabilized, Star Alliance-premium benchmark.
  • The group's strategic axis is LCC medium-haul Asia (Peach + AirJapan) plus 787 long-haul premium; tie your motivation statement to one specific axis rather than generic 'love of flying'.
  • Japanese airline culture means brand protection is part of the job description — social media, off-duty conduct, and even a bad haircut can become HR events in ways that US carriers would ignore.

About ANA Holdings Inc.

ANA Holdings Inc. (TSE: 9202), parent of All Nippon Airways, is Japan's largest airline group by passenger volume and one of only a handful of global carriers rated 5-Star by Skytrax for more than a decade. The company traces its origins to December 1952, when two founders pooled a single helicopter to launch Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transport Co., Ltd. in the rubble of the post-war Japanese aviation market. Through the 1950s and 1960s the carrier consolidated domestic rivals, adopted the All Nippon Airways name, and became the workhorse of Japan's high-growth era, ferrying salarymen between Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, and Fukuoka. International expansion came comparatively late: ANA operated its first scheduled international passenger route, Tokyo-Guam, in March 1986, and only then began building the long-haul network that now stretches across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In 1999 ANA joined Star Alliance, anchoring the world's largest airline alliance alongside United, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines. On April 1, 2013 the group reorganized into a holding company structure, and ANA Holdings Inc. (ANAHD) became the listed parent, with All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. operating as its mainline flag carrier subsidiary. Today the group employs roughly 43,000 people across its operating companies: ANA (full-service mainline), Peach Aviation (the Osaka-based LCC and Japan's largest low-cost carrier), AirJapan (a medium-haul LCC launched in February 2024 out of Narita serving Bangkok, Singapore, and Seoul), ANA Cargo (dedicated freighter operations), ANA Wings (regional turboprop and regional jet operations), plus MRO, catering, ground handling, and travel subsidiaries. Hubs are Tokyo Haneda (HND) for domestic and premium international traffic and Tokyo Narita (NRT) for leisure long-haul and AirJapan. Fleet-wise ANA is the launch customer and largest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying well over 80 aircraft of the type, alongside 777s, 767s, A380s on Honolulu routes, and an A320neo family backbone for domestic and short-haul international flying. Financially the group completed its post-COVID recovery by fiscal 2024, returning to record revenues and profitability as inbound Japan tourism surged and Peach plus the new AirJapan captured LCC market share. Strategically, ANA is now executing fleet modernization (787-9/10 deliveries, A321neo replacements for 767s), digital transformation, and a careful geographic diversification toward LCC medium-haul Asia — all while protecting the omotenashi service brand that anchors the premium mainline.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Identify the correct entity and career portal before applying

    Identify the correct entity and career portal before applying. ANA Holdings has at least four separate hiring tracks with distinct websites and timelines: (1) ANA mainline new-graduate recruiting at recruit.ana.co.jp (Japanese only, runs on the Keidanren March-to-June graduate calendar), (2) ANA mainline experienced-hire / mid-career recruiting at recruit.ana.co.jp/career (Japanese), (3) Peach Aviation careers at flypeach.com (separate brand, LCC culture, Osaka Kansai base), and (4) AirJapan careers at airjapan.com (Narita base, launched 2024, still hiring aggressively). Applying to the wrong track wastes a cycle.

  2. 2
    Create an account on the target portal and complete the entry sheet (ES)

    Create an account on the target portal and complete the entry sheet (ES). For new-grad roles this is a structured multi-question essay form asked in Japanese, typically covering motivation (shibou-douki), self-PR (jiko-PR), gakuchika (what you accomplished as a student), and a scenario question. For mid-career roles it is closer to a resume plus a shokumu-keirekisho (Japanese work-history document) and a cover statement tying your background to a specific job family (corporate, pilot, cabin attendant, maintenance, ground staff).

  3. 3
    Sit the pre-screen aptitude test

    Sit the pre-screen aptitude test. ANA uses SPI3 (Recruit Management Solutions) for most corporate and cabin crew new-grad intakes, administered online or at a test center. Expect verbal reasoning, non-verbal (math) reasoning, a personality inventory, and for some tracks an English component. Pilot cadets sit additional psychomotor and cognitive testing (typically at Japan Aviation Academy or an equivalent).

  4. 4
    First-round interview (ichiji mensetsu)

    First-round interview (ichiji mensetsu). Usually a panel of two interviewers, 20-30 minutes, conducted in Japanese for Japan-based roles. Questions are behavioral, motivation-focused, and heavy on why-ANA versus why-JAL. For cabin attendant candidates this stage also includes grooming and physical checks — posture, skin, smile, height reach, grooming standards — even though Japanese law prevents explicit height cutoffs, the reach test for overhead bins is a de facto screen.

  5. 5
    Second-round interview and group discussion (niji mensetsu / guruupu diskasshon)

    Second-round interview and group discussion (niji mensetsu / guruupu diskasshon). A group of 5-8 candidates is given a business-scenario prompt and observed for teamwork, initiative, listening, and Japanese group-harmony norms. Individual interviews at this stage go deeper into fit, values, and omotenashi orientation.

  6. 6
    Final interview (saishuu mensetsu) with senior leadership

    Final interview (saishuu mensetsu) with senior leadership. Often a board of executives including an HR officer and a line-of-business director. Decisions are made holistically: grades, English ability (TOEIC score is frequently requested, 600+ typical for corporate, 800+ expected for cabin crew, higher for international-facing roles), clubs and activities, and perceived character fit. An official offer (naitei) follows, sometimes with a written pledge ceremony in October for April-start new grads.

  7. 7
    Pilot-cadet track has its own multi-year pipeline

    Pilot-cadet track has its own multi-year pipeline. ANA's Jikayousoujuushikunrensei (self-sponsored pilot trainee) program screens university graduates with a first-class medical, then sends them to contracted flight schools in the US and Japan for roughly two years of ab-initio training, followed by type rating and line training on 737, A320, or 787 equipment. A training bond (roughly ¥15-20 million repayable if you leave early) is standard; do not sign without reading the clawback terms.

Resume Tips for ANA Holdings Inc.

recommended

Submit a Japanese rirekisho and shokumu-keirekisho for any Japan-based role

Submit a Japanese rirekisho and shokumu-keirekisho for any Japan-based role. The rirekisho is a standardized single-page form (photo, education, work history, licenses, hobbies, commute time, family dependents) and the shokumu-keirekisho is a 2-3 page narrative of your professional experience. Western-style one-page resumes are accepted only for explicitly English-medium roles like overseas station managers or certain digital/IT hires at the holding-company level.

recommended

Attach a professional formal photo in the top-right of the rirekisho: 3cm x 4cm,

Attach a professional formal photo in the top-right of the rirekisho: 3cm x 4cm, dark suit, white shirt, neutral background, taken within six months. Selfies, casual photos, or photos shot on a phone visibly fail the formatting screen. ANA graders treat a missing or off-spec photo as a signal that the candidate does not understand Japanese business norms.

recommended

State your JLPT level and TOEIC score explicitly

State your JLPT level and TOEIC score explicitly. Non-Japanese candidates should have JLPT N2 minimum for most customer-facing roles and JLPT N1 for anything ground-staff, cabin-crew, or corporate where internal meetings happen in Japanese. TOEIC 600+ is a soft floor for corporate mainline, 730+ for international-facing desks, and cabin crew applicants should report 600+ (with stronger speaking/writing demonstrated in interview). Pilots additionally need ICAO English Level 4 at minimum and ideally Level 5 or 6 for captains.

recommended

For pilot applicants, list medical class and license precisely

For pilot applicants, list medical class and license precisely. Japanese airlines care about First-Class Medical Certificate validity, ATPL vs CPL-IR, type ratings (787, 777, 737, A320), total time, PIC time, multi-crew time, and any simulator instructor or check airman experience. Include ICAO English Level and any JCAB conversion status if you hold a foreign license — converting a foreign ATPL to a Japanese license is a separate months-long process.

recommended

For cabin attendant applicants, be factual about physical requirements

For cabin attendant applicants, be factual about physical requirements. ANA's functional standard is the ability to reach the overhead bin release unassisted (typically 158cm / 5'2" arms raised), pass a health and vision screen (contacts acceptable, no colored contacts on duty), and maintain strict grooming. Visible tattoos are disqualifying; a conservative professional photo with natural makeup, hair off the collar, and no piercings beyond small studs is expected. Be honest in your application — failing the in-person grooming check after a paper pass wastes everyone's time.

recommended

Localize your experience to a Japanese reader

Localize your experience to a Japanese reader. A ranked prestige university (旧帝大, early-admit Keio/Waseda/Sophia, or a top foreign university) is a tailwind at the new-grad stage, but mid-career hires are evaluated on industry credibility: airline experience, aerospace OEM experience, global hospitality brands (Ritz-Carlton, Peninsula, Four Seasons), Big Four consulting with travel/aviation practice, or government aviation regulators (JCAB, MLIT) all translate well.

recommended

Prepare a dedicated shibou-douki (motivation statement) that names ANA specifica

Prepare a dedicated shibou-douki (motivation statement) that names ANA specifically. Generic airline-love essays are transparent. Good answers connect a concrete personal experience (a Dreamliner flight, a specific service moment, Star Alliance connection, Peach's Osaka LCC model, AirJapan's new medium-haul strategy) to a specific job family and the ANA Group Vision. Explicitly compare-and-contrast with JAL, Singapore Airlines, or Cathay if asked — dodging the question reads as evasive.

recommended

Tailor separately for each group company

Tailor separately for each group company. A Peach Aviation application should emphasize LCC cost discipline, Kansai Airport base willingness, and comfort with lean teams; a mainline ANA application should emphasize Haneda/Narita service, omotenashi, premium customer moments, and Star Alliance network thinking; AirJapan should emphasize hybrid LCC/medium-haul mindset and greenfield-team adaptability. The same boilerplate essay sent to all three signals a candidate who has not done their homework.

Interview Culture

ANA interviews are a concentrated dose of Japanese corporate formality fused with airline-service culture, and candidates who read the cues succeed regardless of nationality.

Arrive 10-15 minutes early, not 30 (early is as impolite as late). Dress in a conservative recruit suit (rikuru-suutsu): black or very dark navy, white shirt, minimal jewelry, natural makeup, hair off the face and collar for women, clean shave for men. At reception, bow slightly (15 degrees) to staff; in the interview room, bow 30 degrees on entry and 45 degrees (saikeirei) when thanking the panel at the end. Hand over your meishi (business card, if mid-career) with two hands, face-up, oriented toward the reader, and never write on a card in front of the person who gave it to you. The interview itself is almost always in Japanese unless the role is explicitly English-medium — assume Japanese until told otherwise, and even for English-medium roles expect the panel to open or close in Japanese to gauge your baseline competence. Answers follow a PREP-adjacent structure (conclusion first, then reason and example, then restate) but with softer hedging than Western interviews; 'to sukoshi omoimasu' ('I think, a little') is the norm and reads as thoughtful, not uncertain. Eye contact is respectful but not aggressive — look at the mid-face or necktie of the most senior interviewer, not a stare. Never interrupt; wait for a full pause before answering. Omotenashi — the Japanese hospitality ethos of anticipatory, selfless service — is not a buzzword at ANA; it is an operating doctrine evaluated at every stage. Expect behavioral questions built around it: describe a time you anticipated a customer's need before they asked, how you recovered a service failure, how you handled an unreasonable guest without losing composure, how you demonstrated kiken-yochi (hazard prediction) in a frontline role. Cabin crew interviews add explicit grooming and physical assessments: posture while seated, smile consistency, skin condition, teeth, nail length and color (clear or very pale pink only), hair neatness, reach test, and for some rounds a short walk to observe gait. Japanese cosmetic norms are stricter than American or European norms and candidates should not push back on them in the interview itself. Pilot interviews swap out service behavioral questions for CRM (crew resource management) scenarios, weather and diversion decisions, automation dependency, and questions about how you handled authority-gradient challenges with a captain. Group discussion rounds reward candidates who help the group reach consensus without dominating; taking the timekeeper or scribe role early signals humility and competence. Finally, the implicit question behind every ANA interview is: will this person protect the brand when it is just them, a passenger, and a bad day? Every answer should give the panel evidence that you will.

What ANA Holdings Inc. Looks For

  • Omotenashi instinct — anticipatory, selfless service under pressure, demonstrated with a specific past example rather than described in the abstract.
  • Team-first orientation (wa / group harmony) without invisibility — ANA rewards people who raise issues respectfully and keep the unit intact, not people who either stay silent or dominate.
  • Language and cultural range — functional Japanese for internal work (JLPT N2+ for most roles, N1 for customer-facing non-natives) plus operational English (TOEIC 600+ corporate, 800+ for international, ICAO Level 4+ for pilots).
  • Physical and medical reliability for operational roles — first-class medical for pilots, overhead-bin reach and grooming standards for cabin crew, ability to pass recurrent training.
  • Safety-first mindset — credible evidence that you will choose a conservative, regulator-aligned, passenger-safe outcome over speed, cost, or convenience.
  • Brand discipline — understanding that ANA's 5-Star Skytrax rating is built moment by moment, and that off-duty behavior and social media are part of the job.
  • Long-horizon commitment — Japanese airlines still prefer candidates who signal a multi-decade career trajectory; frequent short job hops without clear narrative weigh against mid-career applicants.
  • Group-aware ambition — candidates who understand ANA is a group (mainline + Peach + AirJapan + Cargo + Wings) and can articulate where they want to grow across it, not just which cockpit or galley they want to sit in this year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an ANA pilot earn?
Line-pilot compensation at ANA scales with type, seat, and seniority. First Officers on narrowbody (737, A320neo) typically earn ¥8-12M total compensation in early years, widebody (767, 777, 787) First Officers ¥12-18M, and Captains roughly ¥18-30M+ depending on flying hours, international pay, and seniority. Cadet trainees earn a modest stipend during the roughly two-year ab-initio and type-rating phase, and the training bond must be honored if you leave inside the clawback window. Pay is stable and pension/benefits are strong, but ANA does not match top-of-scale US legacy pay — the trade-off is lifestyle, domestic basing, and long-term security.
What is ANA cabin crew pay like, and what are the real working conditions?
Entry-level ANA cabin attendants start in the low-to-mid ¥3M range in base salary, with per-diem and flight-hour allowances taking total annual compensation to roughly ¥3.5-4.5M in year one. Senior crew, purser, and chief purser roles push compensation into the ¥5-8M range over a career. The job is a uniformed, safety-first role with grooming standards, recurrent training, and irregular schedules across Haneda and Narita bases. Benefits include staff travel, health coverage, and a pension, but the role is physically demanding and not the glamorous lifestyle the brand photos suggest — go in eyes open.
Do I need to speak Japanese to work at ANA?
For most roles, yes. ANA mainline and ANA Holdings operate internally in Japanese, and customer-facing roles in Japan require it by definition. A realistic floor is JLPT N2 for mid-career corporate work and JLPT N1 for cabin crew, ground staff, or any role where you will attend internal meetings. Exceptions exist: overseas station staff (New York, London, Frankfurt, Singapore), certain pilot roles, and specific English-medium corporate functions can be done with strong English plus conversational Japanese, but these openings are narrower and more competitive. If you do not speak Japanese, your realistic paths are overseas-based operational or commercial roles advertised in English on LinkedIn or the local hiring page.
Why did I get rejected — and why did the candidate who went to JAL get hired?
The most common reasons ANA passes on otherwise strong candidates are: (1) a generic motivation statement that could have been submitted to JAL, Singapore Airlines, or Cathay with the name changed, (2) visible mismatch with Japanese business formality — suit, photo, bow, or Japanese register off the mark, (3) weak group-discussion performance where the candidate either dominated or stayed silent, (4) TOEIC or JLPT scores below the soft floor for the role, (5) a grooming or physical check miss for cabin crew, or (6) a career narrative that reads as short-horizon or opportunistic. Candidates who route to JAL, Singapore Airlines, or Cathay are often equally qualified; the differentiator is usually fit signals more than credentials.
How early do I need to start the ANA new-grad process in Japan?
Japanese new-graduate recruiting runs on the Keidanren calendar, and ANA follows it tightly. Information sessions (setsumeikai) open around March of your junior year, entry-sheet submissions close roughly April through May, SPI aptitude tests and first interviews run May and June, second and final rounds fill July and August, and naitei (informal offers) are issued in October, eighteen months before your April start. For a spring 2028 start, you begin in spring 2026. Missing the window means routing through mid-career recruiting later or waiting a full year — the process is not rolling, and late applicants rarely catch up.
Can foreigners get hired as ANA cabin crew?
Yes, but the pipeline is narrow and language is the gate. ANA hires non-Japanese cabin crew primarily in overseas bases (New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, London, Frankfurt, Bangkok, Singapore) where local-language service is an asset, and occasionally at Japan bases for candidates with JLPT N1 and permanent residency or a stable visa path. The grooming and physical standards apply identically, and competition is intense — some overseas base openings receive hundreds of applications per slot. If you are a non-Japanese applicant, your realistic first move is the overseas base hiring page for your region, not the Japan new-grad portal.
What is the difference between ANA, Peach, and AirJapan as employers?
ANA mainline is the full-service, 5-Star Skytrax premium carrier — conservative culture, strong seniority systems, Haneda-Narita dual hub, career ladder measured in decades. Peach Aviation is Japan's largest LCC, based at Osaka Kansai, Okinawa, and Sendai — leaner teams, flatter hierarchy, English accepted more widely, younger workforce, and a clearly distinct Peach brand and uniform. AirJapan is the newest entity, launched February 2024 as a medium-haul LCC out of Narita flying 787s to Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, and growing — a greenfield operation where early hires have outsized influence but also carry startup risk. Pick by your appetite for structure vs. agility, not just by where the flights go.
Is the ANA pilot training bond as scary as people say?
It is a real financial instrument but not a trap if you read it. ANA's self-sponsored pilot trainee program funds roughly two years of flight training and type rating in exchange for a bond that obligates you to stay for a defined period after qualification. Leaving early means repaying a prorated portion — commonly ¥15-20M at the start, decaying to zero over several years of line service. The bond is enforceable under Japanese employment law. If your plan is a multi-decade ANA career the bond is invisible; if you are considering the program as a quick credential before jumping to a foreign airline, read the clawback and currency clauses carefully, because you will likely owe the full training cost in yen.
Does ANA use an applicant tracking system, and does a Western-style resume work?
ANA's Japan portals are primarily custom-built recruiting systems with Japanese-language entry sheets, not a global ATS like Workday or SuccessFactors. For Japan-based roles you should submit a Japanese rirekisho and shokumu-keirekisho in the portal's prescribed format. A Western one-page resume uploaded into a Japanese portal is a weak signal and will usually fail the paper screen unless the job is explicitly English-medium. For overseas-based roles (US, UK, Singapore, etc.), a local-format resume is appropriate and often submitted via LinkedIn or the country hiring page. Tailor the document to the portal you are actually using.
What is the work culture really like day to day?
ANA is a traditional Japanese large-enterprise employer with strong service culture. Expect hierarchical decision-making with nemawashi (informal pre-alignment) before meetings, long tenure among colleagues, conservative dress and grooming, and a real expectation that you will be a brand representative on and off duty. Benefits include stable pay, strong pension and insurance, staff travel for employees and families, recurrent professional training, and a clear seniority ladder. Pressure points are long hours in some corporate functions, the intensity of irregular operations recovery (typhoon season, snow ops at Haneda), and the brand-protection expectations on frontline staff. Candidates who thrive are those who respect structure, take pride in unseen detail, and are patient with a pace of change slower than a Silicon Valley or US-legacy airline.

Open Positions

ANA Holdings Inc. currently has 4 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 4 open positions at ANA Holdings Inc.

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Sources

  1. ANA Holdings Inc. — About Us —
  2. ANA Group Corporate Information (English) —
  3. History (ANA HOLDINGS INC.) —
  4. History of All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. —
  5. Peach Aviation (official site, English) —
  6. AirJapan (official site, English) —
  7. Star Alliance Member Airlines —
  8. All Nippon Airways — Wikipedia —