Sawt Falasteen - Japan's ANA to purchase mega-order of 77 new jets

The order will be valued at a total of 2.1 trillion yen (about $14 billion) at catalogue prices before discounts, the company said, adding in a separate statement that 68 orders have been confirmed, with nine options for small and medium-size aircraft.

This mega-order is done "in anticipation of future growth in passenger demand, including strong inbound demand", it said.

"This will be achieved by renewing the fleet that was suspended due to the Covid-19 and placing additional orders for new aircraft."

From Boeing, the company will purchase 18 widebody 787-9 aircraft -- used for "international routes in anticipation of strong Asia-North America demand" -- and a dozen 737-8 jets.

ANA, or All Nippon Airways, will also be purchasing a total of 27 Airbus aircraft -- some of which would be used by Peach, a low-cost carrier owned by ANA.

For domestic routes, ANA will order 20 100-seat class Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, saying it was "the first time in Japan" for the Brazilian plane manufacturer.

"This order will be the catalyst for improving the profitability of domestic flights and the expansion of international flights which is an area of future growth of our airline business," said ANA Holdings president and CEO Koji Shibata in the statement.

"We will fully utilize this opportunity in order to become an industry-leading airline with sustainable growth."

With this massive buy, the total number of aircraft in the Group's fleet -- including those already ordered -- will be approximately 320 by the financial year 2030.

More than half would be the Boeing 787 series aircraft, ANA said.

Boeing said it was "honored" that ANA selected the 787 Dreamliner and 737 MAX to expand its fleet.

"This order is a testament to the market-leading capabilities of Boeing's wide-ranging family of airplanes. We look forward to working closely with ANA to finalize the agreement," the US aviation giant said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Airbus said: "We are pleased that ANA has decided to grow its fleet with a new order for 24 A321neo and three A321XLR aircraft. We look forward to finalising the details."

R.Halabi--SF-PST