Japan Airlines plans to order 10 more Boeing Co. 787 aircraft, bringing its Dreamliners requests to 45, the carrier said Tuesday.
The order is for Boeing's slightly larger version of the Dreamliner, the 787-9. Japan Airlines already has 35 787-8s on order with Boeing. The carrier said on Tuesday that it plans to convert 10 of those to orders for 787-9s.
Japan Airlines said the cost per seat on Boeing's 787-9 is slightly lower than for the 787-8. That improvement is in line with the airline's "efforts to bring down air operation expense," it said in a press release. The carrier said it plans to operate the 787s when it seizes slots opening up out of Tokyo's Narita and Haneda airports.
The order is valued at $2.8 billion at list prices, though airlines usually receive discounts from list prices.
Boeing is expected to deliver Japan Airlines' first 787-8 this quarter. The jet maker was more than three years late in delivering the first Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways of Japan, because of production and supply chain problems. A recently discovered manufacturing issue prompted inspections of 787s.
Boeing has won orders for 880 of its fuel-efficient, Everett-assembled 787s, including Japan Airlines' new order.
Photo Gallery: 787 at Singapore Air Show
