787 part of All Nippon's Olympics plans

Boeing 787 Dreamliner launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) expects to fly Japanese passengers on the new jet to the Beijing Olympics next August.

And it will likely introduce the Dreamliner on its Tokyo to New York City route by late 2009 or 2010, said ANA chief executive Mineo Yamamoto at a press conference in Seattle on the morning of the 787 Dreamliner rollout,.

The airline promises a super-comfortable passenger experience, including bidets in the toilets "to refresh the parts that other airlines cannot reach," said Yamamoto.

ANA takes delivery of the very first Dreamliner in May 2008 and will take six every year through 2015.

Yamamoto also said there are some issues with Boeing's new airplane, but nothing he's overly concerned about.

"Some of the first few aircraft will be a little bit heavier than we'd hoped," Yamamoto said. "But the later aircraft will fall within the weight target. It's not going to be a problem."

Osamu Shinobe, ANA's executive vice president of corporate planning, who heads the airline's 787 launch team, said that "the manufacture of some of the parts is slightly behind schedule."

"However, Boeing has a buffer in its schedule," Shinobe added. "We are very sure they can absorb whatever they need to absorb within that buffer."

ANA insisted that Boeing add some standard features, including a liquid cockpit window-washing system so they can clean the windows from inside.

The airline will fly a short-range, high-density version of the jet carrying more than 300 passengers on domestic Japanese routes and a standard version on international routes with 200 to 250 passengers.

At the Seattle news conference, Yamamoto also offered some good news for Airbus, which has largely been excluded from the Japanese market.

Although ANA's mid-term plan for its fleet to include just three Boeing aircraft types — the small 737, mid-size 787 and large 777 — Yamamoto said he hasn't written off the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet that can carry more than 550 passengers.

He said he has flown on an A380 and been impressed with the size and quietness of the cabin.

"If we decide the A380 is an aircraft customers like, then we will have to consider bringing the aircraft into our fleet," Yamamoto said.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-296 or dgates@seattletimes.com.