Japan’s State Official 747s to Retire, Plan to Replace by 787

From Yomiuri Shimbun, March 16, 2012

Government of Japan has started a study to retire a couple of Boeing 747-400s by fiscal 2018 (ending March 31, 2019). These jumbo jets were procured in 1991 as government official aircraft of Japan.

Major airlines in Japan already retired a big fleet of 747s and maintenance of the government aircraft is getting difficult these days. A plan to introduce the latest medium-size jetliner Boeing 787 is seemingly most probable.

787 is being supported as it can get sustainable maintenance in Japan while the aircraft can fly as long as 15,000Km range. Another charming point of 787 is that about 35% of its parts and components are made in Japan as considered as semi-domestic product. Expected price of official 787 would be JPY20 billion and two aircraft would be procured.

Current fleet of official 747s are stationed in Chitose Air Base and operated by special squadron of Japanese Air Self-Defense Force.　Crew and maintenance personnel were trained by Japan Airlines. However, JAL as well as ANA, once big operators of 747s, have already retired the fleet. Now only NCA, a freight operator, flies 747 and the company is also a launch customer of 747-8F.

In parallel to long-haul government aircraft, there is a call for introducing smaller aircraft for easy access and handling especially to purchase MRJ by Mitsubishi Aircraft to boost the sales of the Japan-made passenger aircraft.

Vietnam Looks Forward to Purchase Mitsubishi MRJ: Keidanren Chairman meets Vietnamese President

From Fuji Sankei Business Eye, March 7 2012

A mission from Keidanren, Japan’s to top business association, met with president of Vietnam, Mr. Truong Tan San, in Hanoi on March 6. Hiromosa Yonekura, chairman of Keidanren  and chairman of Sumitomo Chemicals, requested  the president to adopt Japanese technologies to build domestic infrastructures in Vietnam.

President San remarked on Japan’s first regional jet passenger aircraft, MRJ, under development by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Aircraft that he would ‘let Vietnam Airlines to reply to your request,’  that was quite unusual statement from a head of a state.

At the meeting, Hideaki Oomiya, vice chairman of Keidanren and president of Mitsubishi Heavy industries  told the Vietnamese president that his company was constructing a parts factory for aircraft in Vietnam in order to develop human resources to under take aircraft maintenance.

On previous day,  the mission got a commitment  from Vu Huy Hoang, the Vietnamese minister of industry and commerce that the minister had already instructed to relevant organizations to step forward to consider intoduction of MRJ. The regional jet, with collaborated sales pitch of public-private sectors, is now likely to be purchased by Vietnam.