In what's these days a rare flash of aviation good news, All Nippon Airways (ANA) has agreed to acquire up to 20 Boeing Dreamliners powered by GE GEnx-1B engines.
The agreement will be All Nippon's sixth 787 order and includes 11 787-10s, one 787-9 and four 787-9 options listing at $US5 billion. A further three 787-9s will be acquired from Atlantis Aviation Corp.
ANA was the global launch customer for the Dreamliner and, assuming it takes up its options, the airline will boast a fleet of 103 of the fuel-efficient aircraft by the 2025 financial year.
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It is already the world's biggest 787 operator with 71 aircraft in its fleet and 12 more to be delivered prior to the latest agreement.
"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 ANA executive vice president Yutaka Ito.
The 787-10s will replace Boeing 777s on domestic routes as they retire, although ANA is also the launch customer for the US manufacturer's new 777X.
"Introducing the 787-10 on our domestic routes will help ANA Group maintain its leadership role and improve our ability to operate as a responsible corporate citizen," Ito said.
Boeing senior vice president commercial sales and marketing Ihssane Mounir said ANA had grown into one of the leading airline groups in Asia by continually raising the bar for customer satisfaction.
"We are truly honored that ANA HD is coming back to order more 787 planes with plans to boost their Dreamliner fleet to more than 100 jets," he said. "We are confident that the unique capabilities of the 787-10 will continue to safely serve its passengers with best-in-class comfort and reliability."
The 787-10 delivers 25 percent better fuel efficiency per seat than older aircraft in its class and the overall 787 family has saved more than 48 billion pounds of fuel since entering service in 2011.
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