Japan Airlines will be forced to delay the retirement plans of its Boeing 777 fleet as it becomes the latest company to battle new aircraft delivery delays.
The Japanese carrier was meant to dive headfirst into fleet renewal efforts, with its widebody fleet expected to be one of the core focal points in the short term.
However, those renewal efforts have been tricky, especially with the Airbus A350 fleet, as local reporting backed by the airline’s President states that things are out of sync.
Japan Airlines is not receiving the aircraft it was expecting on time; while this is less than ideal, it isn’t ultimately the end of the world. Moreover, the carrier has plans in place to mitigate any operational impact.
The delays specifically centre around the A350-1000, a newly delivered aircraft type at the airline; however, it has yet to make its firm mark on the business with its intended purpose.
The intended purpose of the -1000 model is to help replace the existing Boeing 777 fleet, which is beginning to show signs of age.
Japan Airlines has selected the Airbus widebody as the direction for the future and to complement existing A350-900s that operate domestically.
However, because of delays and the general uncertainty surrounding delivery timeframes, Japan Airlines is extending the operational life of its Boeing 777 fleet.
Fleet data shows the company has 12 777-300ER jets, 11 of which are active. Their average age is 17.8, making them some of the oldest in the active flying fleet.
Therefore, the A350-1000 is considered a like-for-like replacement for these planes. The airline has eight A350-1000s at this stage, but seven are active.
However, complications on the delivery of the A350-1000 are now taking place, with the order in which deliveries are occurring being out of sync, as reported by Aviation Wire.
The airline needs to be well prepared to combat this, and Japan Airlines says it feels it is doing this. While the complications can be frustrating, their knock-on effect is not expected to be huge.
As more A350-1000s are delivered and 777s can be retired, the -1000 model will see a broader deployment to in-demand international destinations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Fowkes is a Melbourne-based aviation analyst and journalist with over a decade of industry experience. As founder of Dj’s Aviation, he delivers trusted analysis on aircraft, airline strategy and global aviation trends for djsaviation.net
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