JAL may buy 20 Airbus A350 jets

I hope they are not bad as Boeing's so called Dreamliner!! What a bloody financial nightmare!! No pun intended folks!

Lete guess, ANA will soon also do the same as JAL?? To teach Boeing a good lesson!!

Are JAL "considering" Airbus in order to get a bigger discount from Boeing?

This would be a breakthrough for Airbus if it becomes a reality. Airbus had a deal with Skymark but Boeing has had a lock on the big two in Japan for the past 5 decades. A350 looks like it is going to be another troubled programme though ...

This will not happen. It is just posturing by JAL to get an even better deal from Boeing on their next orders, be it for 737MAX, 777X, and maybe even the 748 (doubtful). JAL has never been an Airbus customer, and I do not see that changing. ANA is the only major airline in Japan that purchased Airbus (A320), and even then we are phasing them out.

Hey, why not rush to buy something out of regret over rushing to boy something else?

Japan Airlines and Airbus could not be immediately reached for comment.

? rightly answered by DaveAllTogether.

They should go for the A380. I was on one of these a couple of years ago and it was immense! Also, despite the size it was a very smooth flight... JAL should definitely opt for these.

They should go for the A380.

The A380 is a wonderful aircraft but it is profitable only when it is at or near capacity, which is around 400+ on most airlines in a four class layout. Neither JL or NH have the route structure and passenger demand to require the use of an A380.

If Air France can afford to run them from Paris to Narita, then I'm sure JAL could do the same...

If Air France can afford to run them from Paris to Narita, then I'm sure JAL could do the same..

No. They cannot. Aside from the initial outlay of money in purchasing an A380 (well north of $300 million) there is a significant operating cost. JL might somehow find the money to buy a few, but they do not have routes to operate them profitably (IOW, butts in all the seats). They would have to decrease frequency to get the same yields from operating 1/day 777s.

Neither JL or NH have the route structure and passenger demand to require the use of an A380.

The Haneda-Chitose route is THE busiest in the world. Why do you think they don't have demand? The only issue will be if the A380 can withstand so many cycles at high weight. They could probably get close to the 800 people maximum for the A380.

. They would have to decrease frequency to get the same yields from operating 1/day 777s.

Or they could leverage their alliance partners by mass hauling passengers to a hub, then have the local airline feed out from there (hub spoke approach). But JAL and ANA have both gone the other way with long haul, by buying point to point machines like the 787 which is relatively small, but highly economical. So the only sensible choice would be on their high density routes which would either be the Tokyo/Hokkaido or Hawaii which is a bit season sensitive.

The Haneda-Chitose route is THE busiest in the world. Why do you think they don't have demand?

I cannot speak for JAL but at ANA we are doing just fine with our 773s on that route.

But you had 744D's on that route - much higher capacity. So competition heating up? ;)

But you had 744D's on that route

Key word is HAD. There is a reason we are getting rid of them and going with fuel efficient twins. There is a very good chance that ANA and even JAL will purchase a VLA, either the A380 or the 748. If so it will only be a few aircraft. Nothing like EK and their 90 orders.

Great ! As we say here, don't put all your eggs in same basket...

I avoid Airbus when possible. The planes get too hot for my taste. Don't like their passenger comforts either. Make it much less likely for me to fly JAL.

I avoid Airbus when possible. The planes get too hot for my taste. Don't like their passenger comforts either. Make it much less likely for me to fly JAL.

Too hot is a setting by the cabin crew, not the fault of the manufacturer. Passenger comforts are the choice of the airline (who select seat manufacturers and in-flight entertainment systems) also nothing to do with the manufacturer.