Airbus has finalized a deal to sell five A380 superjumbo aircraft to All Nippon Airways (ANA). Reported in the Nikkei business daily on Friday, notably, this is the first sale of the world's biggest passenger plane to a Japanese airline. When compared with the half share elsewhere, the European plane maker will see a big breakthrough resulting from this sale in Japan as the company presently has only about 4 percent of Japan's market.
Nikkei said that following a friction in the late 1980s, the Japanese airlines have been making all necessary efforts to mend the trade relations between Japan and the United States. As part of this effort, the Japanese company has been purchasing almost all its planes from Boeing.
According to an ANA spokesman, the airline had created a committee on Thursday to select a brand new fleet of large aircraft, but so far no decisions have been arrived at. Further he added that the committee was exploring three options: either the A380 or Boeing's B747-8, or not going for a new fleet at all.
Though it is not clear as to when the final decision will be arrived at, the airline has consistently expressed its added interest in the A380 aircraft according to the spokesman.
According to Nikkei, amidst the soaring fuel costs pressurizing the airlines, ANA is interested to save fuel by using the A380, since it can carry more passengers on fewer flights. However, on the other hand, delay in the delivery of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is also yet another reason for ANA to think of buying A380s.
