ANA to lease 4 Boeing 737-800s as MRJ delays continue

ANA Holdings will lease 4 Boeing 737-800 aircraft while it awaits delayed deliveries of the country's first commercial aircraft in 50 years, the 90-seat Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), a senior executive said. ANA had no plans to cancel its order for 25 of the Japanese-designed jetliners, said Yuji Hirako, who took up the role of president and CE of ANA April 1. The aircraft will be leased from BOC Aviation Limited and SMBC Aviation Capital. The MRJ was delayed for 2 more years in January to redesign its wiring, with first delivery now set for 2020. The latest holdup is the fifth since development began 10 years ago. To tackle the delays, ANA previously said it would push back the retirement of older Boeing 737-500 aircraft and buy 3 DHC-8-Q400 aircraft from Bombardier. <br/>