All Nippon Airways expects to receive all 55 787 jets it has ordered from Boeing by March 2018, its president said, adding pressure on the US firm to ramp up production of the much-delayed aircraft.
Japan's biggest airline by passenger numbers will become the first carrier to receive the 787 Dreamliner on September 25 and plans to have 20 by March 2013.
The lightweight jets will by then be helping ANA cut fuel costs by JPY¥4 billion - JPY¥5 billion (USD$51 billion - USD$64 billion) a year and JPY¥10 billion by the time all 55 jets are in operation, ANA president Shinichiro Ito said in an interview.
"We were in big trouble because we had to push back our business plans (due to delays with the 787)," Ito said on Wednesday. "I'm so excited to finally be receiving it."
The twin-engined, wide-bodied Dreamliner, which promises to raise the bar for fuel efficiency and passenger comfort, is about three years behind its original schedule and estimated to be several billion dollars over budget, largely because of snags in its complex global supply chain.
Ito said the Dreamliner, along with the company's new budget carrier, AirAsia Japan, would play a key role in helping double ANA's operating profit margin to 10 percent in three to four years.
"For the 787, we see a few possible destinations in North America and another few in Europe and hope to start the services in next business year," Ito said.