Wow: All Nippon Airways Orders Jets From Airbus, Boeing, Embraer

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has just placed a massive aircraft order. What makes this exceptionally rare is that an order is being announced with three different aircraft manufacturers at once.

Details of All Nippon Airways’ impressive aircraft order

All Nippon Airways has just revealed an order for dozens of new aircraft. While this largely includes additional frames of aircraft the airline already flies, it also includes a new aircraft type. The order includes the following:

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• 18 Boeing 787-9s; these planes will be used to expand international routes, particular to North America, including re-expanding at Narita International Airport (NRT), given the heavy focus on Haneda International Airport (HND) in recent years
• 20 Embraer E190-Es (15 firm orders and five options), the first of which will be delivered by FY2028; these 100-seat jets will be used for domestic operations, to offer a low capacity and fuel efficient aircraft
• 14 Airbus A321neos; these complement the existing A321neos that the airline already operates, which exclusively operate domestic flights
• 12 Boeing 737 MAX 8s (eight firm orders and four options); this complements the previous order that was placed for the 737 MAX 8, with deliveries of those planes expected to start this year

ANA describes this order as being in anticipation of medium and long term growth in passenger demand, including the strong inbound demand to Japan. This also includes renewing the fleet that was grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic, given that the carrier shrunk at the time.

The total number of aircraft in the airline group’s fleet, including those already ordered and those to be ordered, will be approximately 320 in FY2030, with 120 of those being Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Compared to FY2023, available seat kilometers (ASK) on international routes are expected to increase by approximately 50% by FY2030.

Here’s how ANA CEO Koji Shibata describes this order:

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

My take on All Nippon Airways’ fleet expansion

All Nippon Airways’ aircraft order is massive, and it’s rare to see an airline announce orders with three different manufacturers at once. The way I view it, the biggest takeaway here is how ANA plans to grow, and essentially expand capacity by 50% over the course of seven years.

Japan is dealing with a weak currency, and as a result, outbound tourism is still quite weak. However, inbound tourism is as strong as ever, and clearly the airline is hoping to capture that demand.

For the most part, there’s nothing terribly surprising with this order — we’re just seeing more of the same, with the 787-9s, 737 MAX 8s, and A321neos. It is cool to see a Japanese carrier pick up the Embraer E190-E2, as it’s a great low capacity and fuel efficient jet that should prove valuable in many markets.

If there’s any surprise with this order, perhaps it’s the lack of any sort of order for a high capacity wide body jet. The 787-9 is of course a capable and flexible jet, and I can understand why ANA is doubling down on it.

Keep in mind that ANA is also waiting on 18 777-9s, which will eventually become flagship aircraft, and replace 777-300ERs. Of course the issue is that this plane still hasn’t been certified, and is now six years late, and counting.

So I can understand ANA not wanting to place a completely different wide body aircraft order, but still, it’s noteworthy how the airline is remaining loyal to Boeing for wide body jets. Japan Airlines is largely using A350s to refresh its wide body fleet (A350-900s for domestic routes, and A350-1000s for international routes), and they’re some pretty snazzy planes. I do hope ANA eventually gets its 777-9s, because the airline needs a new flagship aircraft.

For that matter, this is unrelated to aircraft orders, but I do hope that ANA eventually introduces a new business class on its Dreamliner fleet. The current product is totally fine, but not exactly cutting edge at this point, especially as these planes are here to stay.

Bottom line

All Nippon Airways has placed a massive aircraft order, as the airline will be picking up more Boeing 787-9s, Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and Airbus A321neos, in addition to picking up Embraer E190-E2s for the first time.

ANA expects to increase capacity by around 50% over the course of seven years, so that’s quite some growth. It’s pretty impressive how the airline will eventually have a fleet of 120 Dreamliners. It’s also interesting to note that a big focus will be on expanding long haul service out of Narita, given that the focus recently has been on Haneda.

What do you make of ANA’s aircraft order?