Japan Airlines is to operate the Boeing 787 aircraft, more popularly known as Dreamliner, to Delhi from May 1.

JAL will be the first commercial airline to operate the newly introduced aircraft on regular flights to India.

Addressing a press conference, a senior airline official said the Boeing 787 aircraft will be used to operate four of the five weekly non-stop flights between Delhi and Tokyo Narita.

The decision to operate the Boeing 787 will see an almost 25 per cent reduction in seats being offered on the sector. The airline currently uses a Boeing 777 aircraft to operate the five weekly flights.

Seating capacity

While the Boeing 777 can sit 247 passengers, the Boeing 787 sits 186 passengers. The airline's Country Manager, Mr Yasushu Isomura, said that India will be the second country in JAL's global operation to which the Boeing 787 will operate. The airline hopes to operate a daily flight to Delhi with B787 from winter this year.

ashphadnis@thehindu.co.in