Dreamliner strategy hit and miss for ANA

All Nippon Airways is aggressively strengthening international operations with the 787 Dreamliner, but its heavy reliance on Boeing’s high-tech plane appears to be a double-edged sword. ANA adopted the Boeing 787 in 2011, becoming the first airline in the world to do so. It received its 50th 787 in mid-August, giving it 20 more than rival JAL. Thanks in part to the new plane, ANA’s international passengers eclipsed JAL’s for the first time in the business year ended last March. For ANA, the 787 is “a dream airplane” because the airline was allowed to file its own requests when the jet was still in development, said Senior VP Hideki Kunugi, ANA’s GM in New York. The fuselage was lightened using a composite material made with carbon fiber, which is also incredibly strong. This allows the cabin pressure to be set higher to more closely emulate conditions at ground level, increasing passenger comfort. In addition, the 787’s fuel efficiency and cruising distance are better than conventional midsize planes — about 20 percent better than the Boeing 767, for example — making nonstop flights possible to Europe or the US East Coast. “With the expansion of our international routes, it was no longer possible for large aircraft like the Boeing 777 to be economically viable. The 787 enabled us to take customers to new markets that the 767 couldn’t do,” Kunugi said. Ironically, ANA’s heavy reliance on 787s began to backfire in late August, about a week after it accepted delivery of its 50th 787, as engine defects caused it to cancel domestic flights. There also was a slew of cases in which the twin-engine 787s were forced to turn back when engine abnormalities were detected.<br/>