In recent weeks, All Nippon Airways has taken the first Boeing 787-10s into service for domestic use. They have a record number of seats on board for the Dreamliner: 429, of which 28 in Business Class and 401 in Economy Class.

The fact that so many seats fit is mainly because Business Class is very small. The 28 seats are in fact more like Premium Economy seats and do not take up much space. More comfort is not necessary on flights of 1 to 2 hours on which the domestic 787-10 is used.

However, all passengers have an entertainment screen, even in Economy Class. The legroom in the latter class is average.

Japan is known for deploying very well-stocked widebody aircraft on domestic routes. This is partly because there is a high demand for airline tickets between the major Japanese metropolises, in combination with limited airport capacity.

For example, All Nippon Airways also has Boeing 777-300s with no fewer than 514 seats. And the 787-10s will replace the domestic 777-200s with 405 seats.

The large number of passengers is not a problem for safety: the 787-10 is certified to carry a maximum of 440 passengers. Until now, no operators have come close to this. Most airlines put 300 to 350 seats in this type.

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)