LONDON – Japanese giant ANA Holdings has announced yesterday that it will be entering into an agreement with aircraft manufacturer Boeing to convert two orders of Boeing 777-9 into Boeing 777-8 Freighters for cargo utilization, along with finalizing its existing purchase intent (agreement) of 30 Boeing 737-8 aircraft.
The new agreement has been seen as a bold move by ANA Holdings, which is reflecting its plans to expand its cargo business by securing large freighter aircraft.
ANA Holdings has also made it evident that it is looking forward to strengthening its domestic fleets by replacing them with Boeing 737-8, which would lay the foundation for ANA Holdings’ future growth as the aircraft are more capable of performing at optimum limits with increased fuel-efficient capacities.
State of Transition for ANA Holdings
As the aviation market is picking up its charm, which suffered massive setbacks during the covid-19 era, it is evident that ANA wants to fasten itself to the recovery path.
The new announcement by ANA Holdings is proof that the company is making strategic decisions based on the current market drivers and demands.
ANA Holding announced its initial order for 20 Boeing 777-9 aircraft in March 2014 at an event in Everett, Washington.
With the eruption of the pandemic and disruption of the global aviation industry, the plans to confirm the purchase agreement were kept on hold by the company over years.
As the demand in international travel and aviation activity is surging with a glimpse of recovery for the regulators and operators, the meeting held between ANA Board of Directors today decided to finalize the purchase of 2 of the 20 Boeing 777-9 aircraft to be converted to Boeing 777-8F for the cargo operations.
With the recent development by the Board of Directors at ANA Holdings, the aircraft are expected to join the ANA fleet by 2028.
The new state of an art Boeing 777-8F will strengthen the cargo vertical of ANA Holdings as the aircraft is designed to carry more cargo payload in comparison to any of the twin-engine aircraft, with reduced CO2 emission and higher fuel efficiency giving added operational advantage and helping airlines save cost on the operation.
Strengthening narrow-body operation
The ANA Holdings further achieved another milestone, as the board members finalized the agreement for the purchase of 20 Boeing 737-8 aircraft along with 10 more on option, which was announced in January 2019.
The aircraft are scheduled to make their entry into active service beginning in 2025.
The board asserted that “The new aircraft will be introduced to replace the Boeing 737-800, which are currently being deployed on domestic routes, and will offer a more spacious and comfortable cabin with less noise than the existing model.”
The purchase agreement was sidelined due to Boeing 737MAX grounding and suspension amid fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
The program suffered a substantial blow as the aircraft grounding lasted for over 2 years.
But with recent approval from the FAA for resumption of service with modifications to the avionics and the systems, ANA Holdings are confident of its move to purchase the airframe, as 46 airlines around the globe have restarted their use of the 737 MAX airframe with new modifications and without any operational issues.
The new Boeing 737MAX is equipped with the latest Next-Generation Engine, which provides added fuel-efficiency along with its cutting-edge winglets which mutually provide a reduction in fuel consumption by 15 percent as compared to that of the current Boeing 737NG model.
ANA Holdings have concluded today’s announcement by stating that “the group will continue to achieve various initiatives in its growth strategy while raising safety as the foundation of its management and at the same time, strive to improve the quality and service for our customers.”
