ANA converts 28 787-3s to -8s, leaving no shorter-range Dreamliner orders

Boeing said it is assessing the "market viability" of the 787-3 after ANA converted its order for 28 of the shorter-range Dreamliner variants to the standard 787-8, leaving no -3s in the manufacturer's backlog.

The company already had pulled back on its development of the 787-3 in early 2008, shifting resources to the -8 as part of its ongoing effort to contend with program delays (ATWOnline, Feb. 25, 2008). ANA is the launch customer for the 787, which achieved first flight last month 29 months after initial rollout and following multiple delays (ATWOnline, Dec. 23, 2009).

ANA's orders for 55 Dreamliners had been split between the -8 and the -3. Japan Airlines also originally placed orders for 13 -3s but last year converted those to -8s. The Japanese carriers had been interested in the shorter-range version designed to carry up to 330 passengers (the 787-8 and -9 variants are designed to carry 250-290), but no other airlines had expressed an interest.

Boeing VP-Marketing Randy Tinseth confirmed ANA's order switch on his blog Friday, explaining that "getting [-8s] into their hands for earlier delivery was a better solution for them." He noted that "there are no longer any 787-3 orders in the backlog. Going forward, we'll continue to assess the market viability of the -3."