ANA targets first 787 commercial flight in January 2011

[9V-SIA]

Are you going to be on it?

Unlikely. But you never know...

[stargold]

I would love to be on the inaugural to FRA... If they had open reward seats for this flight, I would seriously consider it!

But then again, going to FRA in January? Hmm... Maybe on my way to South America or something!

[stargold]

Well, all the HND-FRA flights have now been loaded onto the GDS (and also viewable on Starnet, but only showing availability until 29FEB).

Inaugural HND-FRA nothing available in rewards, and FRA-HND decent reward availability in Y but nothing in C. But not sure whether I want to do this trip in Y!

I wonder what sort of events / souvenirs they're planning for the inaugurals?

[flying.monkeyz]

First ANA 787 suffers gear malfunction

All Nippon Airways saw its first significant 787 operational hiccup on 6 November, as the newly introduced aircraft suffered a malfunction that prevented the main gear from extending on the crew's first attempt.

A photograph taken of the first 787 delivered, JA801A, on approach to Okayama Airport shows the main landing gear doors in the retracted position, while the nose gear extended normally.

The Wall Street Journal indicated that a failed hydraulic valve was at fault, being replaced on site. Boeing said the aircraft has since been repaired and has re-entered service. The airframer did not discuss the nature of the failure.

Photos taken of the aircraft following landing at Okayama showing the nose and main landing gear body doors hanging free from the aircraft, indicates the crew selected an alternate gear swing to achieve full extension.

"Boeing has a support staff in Japan based at Haneda as part of our ongoing support for our customer and it is an expanded crew during initial entry into service activities," the airframer stated, adding that it can position staff on an "as needed basis" depending on the requirement.

ANA began its first scheduled routes on 1 November between Tokyo-Haneda airport and Okayama and Hiroshima.

The 787's landing gear is hydraulically actuated by the centre 5000psi hydraulic system. The centre system and its twin electric-motor-driven hydraulic pumps actuate the flaps, nose gear and steering, main gear and flight controls. One of the two centre system pumps is constantly running, while the second is available during high demand phases of flight.

Each main landing gear has four different hydraulic valve modules, each responsible for a different part of the sequence of raising and lowering of the 787's main landing gear and associated body doors.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...nction-364408/

[9V-JKL]

1st Transpac Routes Announced

http://www.ana.co.jp/eng/aboutana/pr...pdf/111221.pdf

TOKYO December 21, 2011- ANA, Japan's largest airline and the launch customer for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, today announces the first destinations it will fly to in the USA using the revolutionary aircraft. ANA plans to begin operating services from Tokyo's Narita airport to Seattle and San Jose from fiscal year 2012 onwards.

[HUGE AL]

Interesting...as SJC has been lobbying them for quite some time.

[stargold]

I'm surprised that they feel there's more money to be made from marginal US routes than re-starting some obvious glaring holes in the network, i.e. SYD.

I know that SYD is very premium-light in passenger mix, but if they had a second config with less C seats and more Y seats, that might make somewhere like SYD profitable once again.

[9V-JKL]

More domestic routes announced

http://www.ana.co.jp/eng/aboutana/pr.../111227-1.html

Now includes ITM, UBJ, MYJ