The JAL Group (JAL) has announced an order of twenty Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which it intends to deploy on medium to long haul international routes after fiscal year 2015, as part of its Mid-Term Management Plans for fiscal years 2012 to 2016. The twenty orders comprise ten new purchases and a conversion of ten of the 35 Boeing 787-8s it currently has on order.

JAL's overall purchase of the Dreamliner now stands at 25 firm orders of the 787-8, and 20 of the 787-9, with 20 options, raising the initial order of 35 Dreamliners to 45.

The 787-9 is a slightly larger version that can fit approximately 50 more seats than the 787-8 configured for international routes. Equally efficient as the 787-8 but with more seat capacity, the unit cost per seat on the 787-9 is estimated to be lower and an improvement in line with JAL's efforts to bring down air operation expense per available seat kilometer to achieve the goal of saving 50 billion yen in cost effectiveness during the period of the Mid-Term Management Plan.

JAL intends to maximize the competitiveness of the super-efficient Dreamliner that offers many enhancements to passenger comfort, as JAL positions itself for growth by seizing business opportunities afforded by the upcoming expansion of slot capacity in the Tokyo metropolitan areas (Narita and Haneda).

Contributed by Japan Airlines