Airbus Sale To JAL Stung The U.S. Planemaker

Japan Airlines (JAL) earlier this week announced that it would spend $9.5 billion with Airbus for A350s ... marking Boeing's first major loss in Japan.

And the news stung the U.S. planemaker, according to a source close to the company. The source told Reuters that Boeing execs are still trying to figure out how they lost the sale.

But Boeing is now turning its attention to All Nippon Airways (ANA), which is expected to order about 35 airplanes to replace its long-haul triple-7 aircraft. As with JAL, both the A350 and the 777X are under consideration.

The industry source said the ANA deal is rapidly becoming a deal Boeing feels it can't afford to lose, and that they will "do everything they can" to win the business.

Industry insiders say that Airbus is a longshot for the ANA fleet replacement order. The airline was the launch customer for the Dreamliner, and remains the largest operator of Boeing's newest airplane. But ANA's Shinichiro Ito said last month that the airline would take the possibility of further delays in Dreamliner deliveries into consideration as the decision draws nearer. He also expressed reluctance to be the first to operate another new airliner.

A decision is expected early in 2014, if ANA plans to stick to its fleet replacement schedule.

(ANA Dreamliner image from file)

FMI: www.boeing.com