ANA Likely to Buy Airbus A380 Jets

Tokyo, July 4 (Jiji Press)–All Nippon Airways is in the final stages of talks to buy some five A380 jetliners from Europe’s Airbus SAS, sources familiar with the Japanese airline’s planning said Friday.

ANA is considering using the mammoth double-decker plane with seating capacity of up to 800 for flights to Europe and the United States starting in 2012, the sources said.

ANA initially planned to buy Boeing Co.’s 250-seat 787-8 craft to double the number of flights to New York and London from Tokyo.

But the plane’s delivery delay and surging fuel costs make it likely that ANA will shift to the fuel-efficient A380 jet, the sources said.

Singapore Airlines became the first carrier to introduce the A380 in October.END

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