BizAims

Officials from All Nippon Airways Co, mentioned that the company looks forward to acquire whether five Airbus A380s or other aircrafts meant for long-term routes. The company's spokeswoman, Nana Kon, stated that Japan's second-largest international airline and the country's number one domestic airline set up a team which is going to decide on the aircraft that ANA will buy.   

"We have several options including the A380, from which we plan to choose the optimal equipment," Kon said. Besides, ANA also considers the acquirement of such jets as Boeing 787 and 747.

 In case the Japanese airline buys the A380, it would require five machines to perform long-haul routes, for instance the round-trip flights among two major cities Tokyo and New York. It is worth mentioning that All Nippon Airways will make its purchases exclusively for long-distance flights, the main destinations being United States and a number of European countries. The acquirement is just in time for the company's runway enlargement at Narita International Airport, located in Tokyo, planned for 2010.

According to the report presented by the Japan's leading daily business newspaper The Nikkei, ANA's team analyzes the procurement of five A380 aircrafts at a total price of about 100 billion yen, which is about $940 million.

The decision to by A380 jets derives from the fact that this aircraft will allow the company to cut costs, as well as to save fuel consumption. The report stated that the jet can carry up to 800 passengers. It's interesting to note that the world's first A380 made its flight from Singapore to Sydney. The trip of the Singapore Airlines' jet took place in October. Another airline, called Emirates Airlines, with headquarters in Dubai, placed an order of 58 aircrafts and the jet's first flight is scheduled August 1.