All Nippon Airways (ANA) is expected to receive its second Boeing 787 configured for long-haul service next week, as the 787 delivery schedule continues to lag significantly.
This latest 787 will be the carrier’s sixth overall and will give ANA four of the aircraft in domestic configuration and two for long-haul service, an ANA spokesman tells Aviation Week.
No more 787s will be received this month, meaning the delivery total through the end of March will be well short of the 11 that ANA forecast in December.
The latest revision of ANA’s delivery schedule sees the 787 fleet increase to 20 by the end of ANA’s fiscal 2012, which extends through March 2013.
The total is scheduled to rise to 27 in the following fiscal year, and 55 by the end of fiscal 2017.
ANA currently is flying its only long-haul 787 on its Tokyo-Frankfurt route. The carrier also flies 777s in that market, although the ANA spokesman says the route will have daily 787 service soon.
ANA plans to begin operating 787s on routes to Seattle and San Jose in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. “Once we are ready, more expansion of international routes with the 787,” the spokesman says.
ANA is the launch customer for the 787. Rival Japan Airlines is set to become the second carrier to take delivery of the 787 when it receives its first aircraft on March 25. (Source Boeing/Aviation Week)