Google – AFP, 27 March 2014
 |
All Nippon
Airways says it will buy 70 new planes worth $16.4 billion,
with almost half
from Airbus (AFP/File, Yoshikazu Tsuno)
|
Tokyo — All
Nippon Airways (ANA) said Thursday it would buy 70 new planes worth $16.4
billion, with almost half from Airbus in a move that marked a victory for the
European aircraft maker as it tries to prise open the lucrative Japanese
market.
The airline
will buy 40 aircraft from Boeing, its major supplier, and one that has had a
virtual stranglehold in Japan for decades, and 30 from Airbus to expand its
fleet ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a statement said.
The order
includes 14 of Boeing's troubled Dreamliner as well as 20 units of the 777-9X,
and six 777-300ERs.
It will
also buy seven Airbus A320neo and 23 Airbus A321neo.
The
aircraft will be delivered between 2016 and 2027 and will increase the size of
the ANA fleet to 250 aircraft.
The new
Boeing aircraft will serve mainly international routes while the Airbus planes
will operate both overseas and domestic trips, ANA said.
"ANA
Group?s introduction of these new aircraft will help it respond to the needs of
the increasing number of passengers expected to arrive in Japan in the run-up
to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will support the Japanese government's plans to
boost the annual total of foreign visitors to Japan to 20 million," the
firm said.
The orders,
collectively the biggest in ANA's history, came as the airline aims to expand
its international presence.
Shinichiro
Ito, president and chief executive of ANA Holdings, said the choices of
aircraft were made based on the products' quality, not by brand.
While the
order will give Airbus a morale boost in a market dominated by Boeing, Ito
hinted the US manufacturer's 777 model was simply a better plane than the
equivalent produced by its European rival.
"We
considered the large size 777-9X while also studying the A350. We studied the
quality and economic feasibility as well as when they can be delivered, when we
can own them," Ito told a press conference.
"Also
we studied which model would be the most compatible to what we already have. As
a result, we decided to choose the B777," he said.
"We
never make our orders because it is Boeing or because it is Airbus. Our main
concern is whether the aircraft matches our needs and economic feasibility.
That is how we made the decision this time and will make our decisions in the
future."
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