Japan Airlines' "Paper Timetable" is the final issue 70 years since the company was founded

The final issue of Japan Airlines' paper timetable, which has been around for 70 years since the company was founded, has ended its role as various things change with digitalization.

The final issue is an issue with timetables for domestic flights up to May, and has been placed at ticket counters at Haneda Airport and other airports nationwide from around this time.

Sky timetables have been published by Japan Airlines since 1951 and by ANA since 1954, and many people have obtained them because they are indispensable for planning business trips and trips.

Paper timetables have served as a means of communication between staff and passengers, even as digitalization has made it more common to book online.

However, the use of paper timetables has gradually become limited, and while the situation where it is not possible to operate according to the timetable due to the influence of the new coronavirus continues, ANA has abolished January at the end. Next, Japan Airlines will finish its role at the end of the issue that is currently being distributed.

A man in his 40s who received the timetable said, "When I was a student, I used to look at the timetable and choose what to do, but when I noticed it, I decided by looking at my smartphone in the internet society. I'll take it home as a memorial. "

Anna Kyokawa, who works at the Japan Airlines counter, said, "It was one of the tools for communicating with customers, so I'm sorry that it's gone."

History of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways "Paper Timetable"

-Japan Airlines

Edition- The paper timetable of Japan Airlines was issued in accordance with the operation start date of the company in 1951.

The first issue is one smaller than A4 size, which includes the time of 12 flights on 3 routes and the equipment to be used, such as 8500 yen for one way connecting Tokyo and Sapporo and 5000 yen for the route connecting Tokyo and Osaka. It was paper.

On the cover, a logo called "Tsurumaru" was used, which is a red round design of the crane, and from 1970 to 1952, each flight attendant graced the cover.

According to an employee who knew at that time, flight attendants were a profession that women longed for, and it was a pride to decorate the cover of the timetable, which was said to be the face of the company.

Since the days when traveling by air was not as commonplace as it is now, security inspections, boarding deadlines, baggage check-in information and seating charts, airports nationwide, so that unfamiliar people can board smoothly. It is a content that provides detailed guidance on transportation methods that connect the city with.

Five years ago, we published a total of about 4 million copies on domestic and international flights in a year.

However, as the number of online reservations increases, the number of situations where paper timetables are used is gradually limited, and due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, it is often not possible to operate on timetables, and it will disappear. I did.

The final issue is a back cover that looks back on the past, such as the cover of the first issue.

-All Nippon Airways-

On the other hand, ANA has published a paper timetable since 1954, and the first issue is a ticket size, only one round trip on one route connecting Tokyo and Osaka, 4500 yen one way, 8100 yen round trip. It has been done.

Ten years ago, we published about 10 million copies six times a year, but last year it was about 3.4 million copies, which was one-third, and it was the last in January of this year.

"Paper timetable" Thoughts of the people involved

[Production staff]

Mitsuyo Miura, who has been involved in timetable making for about 20 years since 1996 at Japan Airlines.

At first, most people booked tickets over the phone, and it was important how quickly the timetable was completed and picked up once the timetable was decided.

I spent three days comparing the 60-page timetable data created by the print shop with the original material to confirm that I couldn't give the wrong information to the passengers.

Mr. Miura said, "I saw a businessman glancing at the timetable on the monorail heading to the airport, and I sometimes wanted to say that I made it." I was talking nostalgic.

Mr. Miura was particularly impressed by the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, and the effects of the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Due to a series of suspensions on international routes and the timetables had already been issued, I was busy making leaflets to inform the flights that had been suspended.

Mr. Miura recalled, "I remember issuing the most correction leaflet at the time of SARS. The correction is usually about one or two, so this time was special."

Mr. Miura said, "The timetable is the first point of contact between the airline and the customer, and it is also the face of the airline, so I had a really good experience."

[Ground staff]

Even now that it is common to make reservations online, paper timetables have served as a means of communication between staff and customers.

This is Anna Kyokawa, who is in charge of passenger service at the Japan Airlines counter at Haneda Airport.

Mr. Kyokawa says that he was surprised when he heard that the paper timetable was used to show users the time and seat position, and that it would disappear.

Mr. Kyokawa said, "There was a page that was easy to see when choosing a seat for the customer, and it was useful. I feel that it is very fun to interact with the customer through the airplane." Continue to tomorrow "on the cover of the final issue. Looking at the letters, I would like to work with gratitude once again to the customers who have used the airplane many times. "