Japan’s ANA orders 15 extra Boeing 787 Dreamliners price $5 billion at record costs

SEATTLE/TOKYO (Reuters) – ANA Holdings Inc (9202.T) mentioned it is going to purchase 15 extra Boeing Co (BA.N) 787 Dreamliners price $5 billion at record costs, the primary business order announcement for the U.S. planemaker this yr because it wrestles with the grounding of the smaller 737 MAX.

The deal, which sees Japan’s greatest service swap from Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.L) engines to ones equipped by Common Electrical (GE.N), is a lift for Boeing after it posted no January orders for the primary time in many years.

ANA’s order consists of 11 787-10 stretch variations and 4 shorter 787-9s. It additionally has choices for an additional 5 787-9s. The primary supply will likely be within the enterprise yr starting April 2022, the airline mentioned in a information launch on Tuesday.

ANA was the launch buyer for the 787 programme and is the world’s greatest operator of the planes. The brand new additions would deliver its buy whole to 98, of which 71 are in service. It operates all three fashions of the aircraft, the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10.

The order is a blow to Rolls-Royce, which has equipped all of ANA’s 787 engines thus far. Issues with the engines which required additional inspections led the Japanese service to cancel lots of of flights in 2018.

“Because the 787 turns into a bigger share of our fleet dimension, we now have made the choice to diversify a number of the parts to reduce single supply dangers,” an ANA spokeswoman mentioned.

Air New Zealand Ltd (AIR.NZ), a Rolls-Royce buyer for its preliminary 787 fleet, final yr ordered GE engines for its newest order of eight planes, which means it is going to additionally function each sorts sooner or later.