TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Airlines plans to buy 42 planes from April 2025 to March 2034 at a list price of about $12.39 billion as it strives to improve fuel efficiency and plans to expand international travel, the airline said on Thursday.
A strong recovery in passenger demand also helped JAL raise its group net profit forecast to 90 billion yen ($596 million) for the current year ending in March, up from 80 billion yen. The latest estimate beat the average profit forecast of 10 IBES analysts of 85.4 billion yen.
Japan’s second-largest airline plans to buy 21 Airbus A350-900 wide-body aircraft and 10 Boeing (NYSE:) 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the company said in a statement.
The company also plans to acquire 11 A321neo narrowbody aircraft between fiscal 2025 and 2033.
Higher-efficiency aircraft are in high demand as international shipping moves closer to full recovery from the pandemic and has turned into competition for engine and maintenance contracts.
JAL said it is committed to maintaining and improving its competitiveness by introducing state-of-the-art aircraft.
($1 = 150.9600 yen)