All Nippon Airways Delays Aircraft Deliveries

An ANA 777-300ER taxiing at LAX. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

[ Aircraft Orders and Deliveries ]May 5, 2020 10:06 am ET

By Pete Ainsley

As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, All Nippon Airways, the largest airline in Japan, will delay the delivery of a number of aircraft. According to Nikkei, 13 aircraft scheduled to be delivered in the first half of the fiscal year will be delayed, including the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

ANA President and CEO Shinya Katanozaka said the new aircraft will be delivered in the second half of the fiscal year.

“The aircraft due for delivery in the second half of this fiscal year will be shifted to the next fiscal year. As for the 777-9X that we’ve ordered, delivery has been postponed partly due to circumstances on their end.” Katanozaka told Nikkei.

In the meantime, Katanozaka mentioned the importance of narrowbody aircraft in the future.

“I think demand for narrowbodies is strong,” Katanozaka said. “I believe recovery will happen sooner on the domestic front, and the planes being used on domestic flights are becoming smaller.”

But he insisted All Nippon Airways has not signed for 737 MAX, which would have been used to bolster the airline’s domestic fleet. According to the latest financial report, ANA captured a strong domestic travel demand in the fiscal year spanning late 2019 to early 2020.

In response to the global pandemic, All Nippon Airways announced 6,400 flight attendants have been furloughed, 85 percent of domestic flights have been slashed and only limited international flights for essential travels have remained on the schedule.

The airline also introduced a pay cut program in April. In the meantime, the executives have been returned their bonuses. Katanozaka continues to insist that allowing lower-level workers — such as baggage handlers, gate agents and other employees of a similar level — is the first priority.

The 2020 Summer Olympics, originally slated to take place this summer in Tokyo, were expected to be a boon to both revenue and profits for the airline, but the collection of sporting events will be delayed for a year.

Katanozaka is optimistic about the airline’s future and believes a complete recovery could be seen in fiscal 2021, though he also believes that the coronavirus pandemic will last until August as the state of emergency “will probably continue during summer.”

However, Katanozaka anticipated the aviation market will not be bounced back immediately after the pandemic is over. He also expects “the domestic market will be 70 percent compared with a year earlier and 50 percent for international flights at the low end.”