All Nippon Airways (ANA) has received its first two Boeing 787-10 aircraft that will be solely deployed on Japanese domestic routes. The aircraft will be used to replace older 777-300s that are currently used on high-density high-frequency routes from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) to other major cities across Japan, including Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
The first of the new high-capacity aircraft (registered JA981A) departed Boeing’s 787 final assembly line plant in Charleston, North Carolina on March 18, 2024, arriving at Haneda Airport on the night of March 20, 2024. The second aircraft carrying registration JA983A arrived at Haneda on the night of March 24, 2024. Both delivery flights routed via Los Angeles and Honolulu before heading on to Tokyo.
The delivery of two new aircraft in such quick succession is unusual but not uncommon in the aviation industry and allows ANA to introduce the pair onto routes immediately operating the two planes in parallel with one another.
The 787-10 model is the longest variant in the 787 series, with a total length of 68.3 meters, a height of 17 meters, and a width of 60.1 meters. The ANA aircraft are equipped with General Electric (GE) GEnx-1B engines.
In February 2020, ANA announced an order for 11 787-10 aircraft to replace the Boeing 777-300 within ANA’s fleets which are dedicated to flying domestic services. The introduction of these new aircraft to domestic routes, a first for a Japanese airline, was initially planned for autumn 2023, aiming for a fleet of four aircraft within the first year, although this plan was postponed until March 2024 due to supply chain delays at Boeing.
The cabin configuration of the new jets features 28 Premium Class seats and 401 Economy Class seats, totaling 429 seats across both cabins. The carrier also operates several 787-9s also dedicated solely to domestic Japanese routes. Elsewhere in the ANA, the airline also currently has three 787-10s in service on international routes, although these are configured in a three-class 294-seat configuration. The first of these arrived with the carrier in April 2019.
The inaugural flight for the domestic 787-10s is scheduled for March 27, 2024, departing from Tokyo/Haneda at 10:00 local time and arriving at Sapporo/Chitose (CTS) at 11:35 as flight ANA59. The aircraft will also be used for the return flight ANA62, departing from Sapporo/Chitose at 12:30 and returning to Tokyo/Haneda.
ANA plans to introduce all 11 ordered domestic 787-10 aircraft by fiscal year 2026, standardizing its domestic fleet with the Boeing 787 model and phasing out the 777s from its domestic operations entirely.