ANA Holdings (ALNPY) (ANA HD), the holding company of All Nippon Airways (ANA), agreed with Boeing to convert two orders for Boeing 777-9 airliners into two Boeing 777-8 freighters, ANA HD announced in a statement following a meeting of the Board of Directors held on July 11, 2022.
The board agreed to convert two orders from its order of 20 Boeing 777-9 aircraft into two Boeing 777-8 freighters, expanding the initial order announced on March 27, 2014. The B777-8Fs will be introduced into service during or after FY 2028, according to the airline.
The airline also finalized its existing purchase agreement with the plane maker, initially announced on January 29, 2019, for 30 Boeing 737-8s (20 confirmed and 10 optional). ANA commented on the grounding and recertification of Boeing’s MAX aircraft.
“The FAA approved the resumption of operations of this aircraft in November 2020 with modifications to its system that were identified to be factors that led to the accidents and review in the crew training methods,” the airline said. “As of today, 46 airlines worldwide have resumed operations of this aircraft, and it has been operating smoothly without any operational issues.”
The first B737-8 is scheduled to be delivered in 2025.
“The new aircraft will be introduced to replace the Boeing 737-800, which are currently in operation on domestic routes, and will offer a more spacious and comfortable cabin with less noise than the existing model,” ANA added.
The two decisions fall in line with the airline’s plan “to further expand its cargo business through securing large freighters and to replace the domestic fleet’s smaller planes with more fuel-efficient aircraft,” ANA HD said in the statement.
