Japanese airline wants cash for 787 delay

All Nippon Airways Co., the first customer for Boeing Co.'s more fuel-efficient 787 plane, will seek compensation for a fifth delay in the delivery of its Dreamliner.

The Japanese carrier will consider buying or leasing new planes to make up for the delay, President Shinichiro Ito said in an interview in Tokyo today. All Nippon is also considering postponing the retirement of planes, he said.

"We'll study whether to bring in new planes or delay retirements," Ito said. "Discussions on compensation will start from now."

All Nippon, which is also the biggest customer for the 787, is increasing its fleet to boost international flights when Japan's two largest airports expand next year. The airline, which was scheduled to receive its first Dreamliner in February, won’t get it until the fourth quarter.

Boeing said yesterday the Dreamliner will fly for the first time by the end of this year and be delivered to customers in the fourth quarter of 2010. The delivery target is about 2½ years behind the original goal of May 2008.

ANA, as the airline is known, has ordered 55 of the 787s, which will seat as many as 330 passengers. The carrier's initial order of 50 planes in 2004 was worth about $6 billion at list prices. Rival Japan Airlines Corp. has ordered 35 of the aircraft.

"The delay could disrupt the introduction of the 787s by a year," said Makoto Murayama, an analyst in Tokyo at Nomura Securities Co. "ANA will probably receive compensation from Boeing in the form of discounts on new orders."

The nation's largest domestic carrier has ordered four 767-330s, which seat as many as 350 passengers, to cope with previous Dreamliner delays.

All Nippon sold new shares last month to raise as much as 142 billion yen ($1.5 billion) to buy planes.

All Nippon rose 2.1 percent to close at 290 yen in Tokyo trading Aug. 28.