All Nippon Airways has announced it will be retiring its four B747 jumbo jets from its fleet before March next year.
The first aircraft will be phased out as early as next month.
Commonly used on routes to Haneda, Tokyo; New Chitose, Hokkaido; and Naha, Okinawa, ANA B747s also occasionally operate to Kansai, Osaka; Chubu, Nagoya; and Fukuoka flights. The carrier will use B777s and B787s as replacements on these services.
ANA stated that while the 747 has served the airline well for over ten years, it is time to substitute the four-engine jumbo jets with more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as the 787.
The 777 model is also able to carry over 500 passengers, so capacity will not be affected, ANA added.
The retirement of 747s appears to be an industry-wide trend, with both Cathay Pacific (see here) and Lufthansa (see here) announcing that they will phase out the model earlier than initially planned.
For more information, visit www.ana.co.jp
Valerian Ho
