Japanese carrier ANA has placed an order for 20 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
According to Boeing, the agreement includes 11 787-10 aircraft, one 787-9 and options for five 787-9s valued at more than US$5 billion at list prices. It added that the airline also plans to acquire three new 787-9 aircraft from Atlantis Aviation Corporation.
According to Boeing, ANA is now the world’s biggest 787 operator. The airline previously ordered 83 Boeing 787 aircraft in total, 71 of which are currently in service and 12 more will be delivered later. The addition of the 20 newly ordered aircraft will bring the total number of Boeing 787s operated by ANA to 103.
Boeing said the agreements will mark ANA’s sixth order for the Dreamliner series aircraft once they are finalised. The airline placed its initial order for the 787 Dreamliner in 2004.
ANA said the Boeing 787-10 aircraft has been selected to serve its domestic routes and will enter service between 2022 and 2024. It added that the 787-10 aircraft, which can “significantly” reduce carbon and noise emissions, will replace its Boeing 777 series aircraft on domestic routes, making it the first carrier in Japan to operate the Boeing 787-10 aircraft on domestic routes.
The new Boeing 787-9 aircraft are scheduled for international service starting 2024 and at the end of 2025.
ANA said it considers a range of factors when adding aircraft to its fleet, and the Boeing 787 was selected “after a thorough evaluation process determined that it would best meet ANA Holdings’ goals while helping the airline boost service and hospitality”.
According to the airline, the Boeing 787 aircraft can “significantly” improve efficiency compared to the Boeing 777 planes that it currently deploys. It added that replacing the 777 planes used on domestic routes with the new 787s will allow the airline to achieve 25 per cent better fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, since the 787 also generates less sound that the 777, the move will also reduce noise emissions.
ANA said the newly ordered planes will use GE Aviation’s GEnx-1B engines, which, according to Boeing, will contribute to the 25 per cent improved fuel efficiency per seat of the 787-10.
According to Boeing, the Dreamliner family has saved more than 48 billion pounds of fuel since the first 787 entered commercial service in 2011, and the 787 fleet’s noise footprint is also 60 per cent smaller than those of the airplanes it replaces.
“Boeing’s 787s have served ANA with distinction, and we are proud to expand our fleet by adding more of these technologically advanced aircraft,” said Yutaka Ito, executive vice president of ANA and ANA Holdings.
“These planes represent a significant step forward for ANA as we work to make our entire fleet more eco-friendly and to reduce noise output. Introducing the 787-10 on the domestic routes will help ANA Group maintain its leadership role and improve our ability to operate as a responsible corporate citizen.”
Business Traveller Asia-Pacific previously reported that ANA became the first carrier in Asia-Pacific to operate all variants of the 787, including the -8, the -9 and the new -10, after it took delivery of its first 787-10 aircraft in April last year.
ANA receives its first Boeing 787-10 ahead of Singapore, Bangkok deployment
