ANA Holdings, a Japanese airline, said it would place a record-breaking order of up to 77 planes to replace its fleet and capitalize on the growing travel demand.

ANA reported that the order, which was its biggest ever in terms aircraft numbers, was valued at more than 2.1 trillion yen (14 billion dollars) before discounts and catalogue prices.

Aviation analysts claim that aircraft are usually sold for about half of their list price.

Deal includes 68 firm order and nine options. This could bring the total purchase of aircraft to 30 from Boeing, 27 Airbus and 20 Embraer.

The order also includes 15 Embraer E190E2 regional aircraft and 18 Boeing 787 widebody jets powered by GE. The order also includes 27 Airbus A321neo family narrowbodies, and eight Boeing 737 MAX.

The planes are expected to be delivered between 2028-2033.

In recent years, the number of visitors to Japan has reached record levels. The airline stated that it placed the order because of an increase in passenger demand from Japan visitors.

Daisuke Suzuki's, ANA director of corporate strategy told a press briefing that, "looking at the growth in the market as a whole, we want the supply to be procured just when it is needed."

Suzuki said that the Embraer aircraft will allow the airline "to adjust supply to the demand in our medium- to long-term operations within the United States."

EMBRAER WIN

ANA's purchase marks a major breakthrough for Embraer, a Brazilian company that manufactures the latest generation of regional jets. It is also a blow to Airbus who has been trying for years to gain a foothold in Japan with its A220.

Embraer is the third largest planemaker in the world.

Embraer focuses on aircraft with up to 150 seats, just below Airbus and Boeing's most popular A320 and Boeing 737 narrowbody family, which can carry between 150 and 250 passengers.

This deal represents a pivotal moment in Japan's efforts at promoting its regional aircraft industry.

ANA ordered 15 SpaceJet regional aircraft made in Japan that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries developed, but delivery delays and, in part, difficulties obtaining certifications caused the program to stall in 2023.

ANA Holdings operates the passenger and cargo airline ANA as well as low-cost carriers Peach Aviation, AirJapan and AirJapan. As of the end of December, it operated 277 aircraft. It expects to have a fleet size of around 320 aircraft in the 2030 financial years.

The company announced in January that it would increase its number of international flights for the fiscal year 2025 to meet the growing demand but maintain the level of domestic flights last year.

(source: Reuters)