Airbus has won a deal to sell three A380 superjumbo jets to ANA Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at about JPY 150 billion (USD 1.25 billion). The planes are to be introduced in fiscal 2018 in routes to Hawaii and elsewhere. Orders for Airbus A380s have dried up in recent years reflecting a fundamental shift in the industry toward smaller, twin-engine planes that cost less to fly than the stately, four-engine jumbos, which can carry as many as 525 passengers.

The company's efforts to sell the A380 suffered a setback in 2014 when it canceled a USD 2 billion contract with Japanese discount carrier Skymark Airlines Inc. for six of the superjumbo passenger jets after the carrier struggled to raise cash to pay the installments. It has pushed back the delivery of its first A320neo aircraft to the start of 2016, missing a goal to hand over the revamped version of the jet to its initial customer by the end of 2015.