All Nippon Airways will retire its last two passenger-carrying Boeing 747s next month, ending an era in which the American-made jumbo jet was a frequent presence in Japanese skies, working both the international and domestic routes of ANA and Japan Airlines.
In the 1970s, ANA and JAL were early purchasers of the revolutionary airplane, and they remained loyal to it and to Boeing, which even produced a special high-density, 560-seat, short-haul version of the 747 just for them.
Changes in technology and in travel behavior and a demand for more flights on smaller planes, however, have caused a global shift. For JAL, that has ended 50 years of loyalty to Boeing products.
(Source NYTimes)
