Japan Airlines (JAL) has ordered 21 Boeing 737 Max 8s, as part of efforts to upgrade its short-haul fleet.
The Tokyo-based airline will take delivery of its first example in 2026, it said on 23 March.
Powered by CFM International Leap-1B engines, the jets will replace some of JAL’s current 737-800 narrowbodies.
Cirium fleets data records that JAL operates 43 737NGs, while subsidiary Japan Transocean Air flies a further 13 examples of the Boeing single-aisle.
“We are delighted to select the Boeing 737-8, a member of the very latest 737 Max family, to replace our 737-800s, which make up the largest proportion of the JAL Group’s fleet,” says the carrier’s president Yuji Akasaka.
JAL is the latest Japanese operator to commit to the 737 Max over the past year: at the Farnborough air show in July 2022, All Nippon Airways announced orders for 20 737 Max 8s, becoming the country’s first customer for the type. And in January this year, compatriot Skymark Airlines finalised orders for four 737 Max 8s.
