The board of ANA Holdings has approved plans to order 30 Boeing 737 Max 8s for All Nippon Airways and 18 Airbus A320neos for budget unit Peach.
ANA will place firm orders for 20 737 Max 8s and take 10 options, valuing the deal at up to $3.51 billion. All 737 Max aircraft are powered by CFM International Leap-1B engines.
They will replace the 47 Boeing 737NGs in ANA’s fleet that is primarily used on its domestic network, and complement the 33 A320neo family aircraft that it has in its fleet and on-order.
Peach, meanwhile, will take the 18 A320neos in addition to the eight re-engined jets that it will start taking delivery of later this year, and will replace older A320s in its fleet. It also has orders for two A321LRs.
The deal is valued at $1.99 billion at list prices, but ANA has yet to identify if it has selected Leap-1As or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines to power its A320neo family aircraft.
ANA Holdings states that the decision is based on the “economic growth of Asia and emerging countries, with demand in the Asian aviation market and inbound demand on the rise.”
It adds that each airline “selected its own optimum aircraft to fir its strategy to further grow.”
In a statement, ANA says that both aircraft types were chosen as the most ideal fit to the airline’s respective fleets and that the order was not politically motivated, despite pressure from the governments of Japan and the United States. The deal with Boeing is worth US$2.3 billion and the Airbus order US$2 billion, this is subject to usual discounts. Deliveries will run from 2021 through 2025.
ANA already operates several A320neo family aircraft itself and has more on order, alongside A320ceo and Boeing 737 ‘Next Generation’ (-700/-800) aircraft. The new order for 737 MAX means that the airline will continue its policy of operating narrowbody aircraft made by both major manufacturers.
The Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo have amassed thousands of orders due to significant fuel savings offered by a new generation of engines. But the world’s largest plane makers continue to wage fierce market battles, with Boeing having chipped away at the Airbus lead in medium-haul aeroplanes.
