Japan Airlines considering replacements for its regional aircraft fleet

Japan Airlines Group (JAL) is said to be considering “successor aircraft types” for its regional aircraft fleet. Currently, the airline operates a mixed fleet of several aircraft types and ideally would replace these with a single type going forward.

As reported by Flight Global, in the airline’s annual report, which was published on October 1, 2025, the carrier states that it is “keeping an eye on future demand trends” to decide what would replace its regional fleet in the future. Currently, the carrier’s regional fleet comprises five main aircraft types.

According to ch-aviation, the airline currently has 18 Embraer E170s, 14 Embraer E190s, 13 ATR42s, two ATR 72s, and five De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400s. While there are no specific comments in the report as to whether the types flown would be consolidated into one particular family of regional aircraft, such a move would make sense from both an economic and an operational standpoint.

Aeroprints.com / Wikimedia CommonsBy 2030, the airline targets about two-thirds of its domestic fleet to be ‘small aircraft,’ referring to its narrowbody fleet. The airline states this is to better match supply with demand and improve profitability on short-haul and regional routes. The current figure for narrowbody aircraft is around 58%.

Conversely, the proportion of ‘large aircraft’ (widebodies) being used on domestic routes within Japan is expected to increase from 19% currently to 24% in 2030 as more A350s arrive within the fleet. On the mid-size level, the use of Boeing 787s (of which the carrier has 45 with ten on order) as well as 767s (JAL has 24) will reduce from 19% to 13% as the oldest 767s are retired.

The airline’s first 767-300ER was retired in September 2024,  marking the start of a program that will see all of the type leave the fleet in the coming years.

Fleet replacement program underway

Any move to replace its regional fleet would come as the carrier undergoes something of a fleet replacement program. Earlier in 2025, Japan Airlines announced it was ordering an additional 17 Boeing 737 MAX 8 on top of its March 2023 order for 21 of the aircraft type. The Japanese flag carrier intends to replace its single-aisle Boeing 737-800 aircraft with the B737-8 on domestic routes.

Markus Mainka / ShutterstockAt the same time, the airline is beginning to phase out the older types in its current fleet. In 2024, the Oneworld member airline ordered 11 Airbus A321neos to replace its Boeing 767s operating domestic flights.

Additionally, in the order placed at the Farnborough Air Show in 2024, the carrier officially signed a firm order with Airbus for 20 additional A350-900 widebody aircraft. These aircraft, along with 13 A350-1000s on order or delivered, are being used to replace its aging fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs on international routes.

What types might JAL order?

Considering the range of regional aircraft currently operated, plus a swing towards Airbus jets in recent years, it would not be unreasonable to believe that either more Embraer regional jets in the form of its E2 series, or even Airbus A220s, may come into play.

Although looking further ahead, JAL Group has also partnered with hybrid-electric startup MAEVE Aerospace in its development of the MaeveJet 100-seat regional aircraft, although it has not committed to ordering any of the breakthrough type at this stage.

MAEVE AerospaceShould the carrier go down the Embraer route, it would follow its compatriot carrier, All Nippon Airlines, in this respect. In February 2025, All Nippon Airways (ANA) placed a substantial order with Embraer to integrate E-Jets into its fleet for the first time. The company ordered 20 E190-E2 aircraft, including 15 firm orders and five options.

These jets, which the Japanese carrier defines as “technologically advanced regional jets”, will allow ANA to better respond to fluctuations in demand while optimizing costs and improving overall profitability. Deliveries are expected to commence in the 2028 fiscal year.  The order was part of a wider future fleet selection that also included Boeing and Airbus jets.  The Japanese airline group said at the time it was gearing up to accommodate a growing number of passengers, particularly on routes to Japan.

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Japan Airlines considering replacements for its regional aircraft fleet

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