Thursday, May 7, 2015

ANA's international Boeing 787-9 debuts.

On May 5th, All Nippon Airways [NH/ANA] placed its first long-haul-configured Boeing 787-9 in service on the Tokyo/Haneda [HND/RJTT] – Munich [MUC/EDDM] route. Flight NH217 was operated by JA836A, ANA's third example of the stretched Dreamliner. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-K2 engines, the aircraft is in a 215-seat layout, consisting of 48 business (staggered 1-2-1), 21 premium economy (2-3-2), and 146 economy (3-3-3).

Boeing 787-9 JA836A is pushed back from Haneda for her inaugural flight. (Photo: Aviation Wire)

Having been the first carrier to place the 787-9 into service (ANA takes delivery of first Boeing 787-9.), Japan's largest carrier has been flying 787-9s since August last year (ANA's Boeing 787-9 enters service.), but on domestic routes only with domestic-configured airplanes seating 395 (18 Premium Class and 377 economy). Compared to ANA's smaller long-haul 787-8 (169 seats; 46 buisness, 21 premium economy, and 102 economy), the long-haul 787-9 seats 46 more passengers and carries 1.2 times more cargo. Range has also been increased slightly by 160 kilometers to 14,960 kilometers.

The new variant becomes the first to boast ANA's latest in-flight entertainment product, including ANA SKY LIVE TV, which offers live television programs on passengers' personal monitors throughout the cabin, and ANA WiFi Service (ANA to offer in-flight Wi-Fi for international from March.), which is being offered on their 787s for the first time. Using Panasonic Avionics' product, prices for internet connectivity are set at 6.95 USD for 30 minutes, 16.95 USD for three hours, and 21.95 USD for 24 hours. E-books ranging from magazines to manga are offered, while the ANA Sky Map, which shows the aircraft's flight path, has been upgraded from 2-D to 3-D.

Staggered business class seats in a new 1-2-1 layout. (Photo: Aviation Wire)

ANA has ordered a total of 83 Dreamliners including three 787-10s (ANA orders Boeing 787-10s, 737s, and Airbus A321ceos.), 44 787-9s, and 36 787-8s, of which three 787-9s and 32 787-8s have already been delivered. Fiscal year 2015 will see them add another eight 787-9s, including R2-D2 Jet (ANA reveals Star Wars Project.), and three 787-8s, alongside two additional 777-300ERs, while earlier planned retirement of older 777s have been deferred and three 767-300s are the only wide-body jets that are slated for disposal. ANA's second international destination to see scheduled 787-9 service will be Jakarta/Soekarno-Hatta [CGK/WIII] starting in August.

Source: All Nippon Airways, April 28th. (in Japanese)
Source: FlightLiner, May 1st. (in Japanese)
Source: Aviation Wire, May 5th. (in Japanese)

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