Aircraft

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has delayed indefinitely a decision on whether to order Airbus A380s or Boeing 747-8s.

The decision has been delayed indefinitely "until the market conditions look right", an ANA spokesman says from Tokyo.

ANA's spokesman told ATI in November the decision had been delayed from this year's last quarter to next year's first quarter but today ANA issued a formal statement.

The spokesman says the delay is now "going to go beyond" next year's first quarter.

He says it is unclear when a decision will be made because ANA wants to wait until the global economy improves.

ANA's large aircraft selection committee continues to exist but "its actions have been suspended", says the spokesman.

Last month, Japan formally went into recession and the ANA spokesman says the carrier can see that passenger load factors on its long-haul routes are falling.

The Star Alliance carrier mostly operates Boeing 777s on long-haul although it uses Boeing 747-400s for services to Frankfurt and Paris, adds the spokesman.

The two manufacturers have been waiting for years for a Japanese airline to formally consider orders for ultra-large passenger aircraft.

ANA has not said publicly how many aircraft it may be interested in, but industry sources have said it is looking at fewer than 10, and probably somewhere between three and six on firm order.