Boeing has delivered its 100th 787 Landing Gear Exchange (LGE) unit, a milestone received by longtime customer ANA. The achievement underscores Boeing’s focus on aftermarket services that help airlines reduce maintenance downtime and preserve capital.
ANA, which has installed 30 exchange landing gear assemblies across its 787 fleet, took delivery of the historic unit as part of a broader strategy to streamline heavy maintenance. Yukifumi Ueda, ANA’s vice president and general manager of Engine, Component & Supply Chain, said the program enables the airline to uphold rigorous safety standards while optimizing operational schedules. “This delivery reflects our enduring partnership with Boeing and our shared priority of delivering reliable, high-quality service to passengers,” Ueda added.
Now spanning more than two decades, Boeing’s LGE program has grown into a preferred maintenance option for 787 operators worldwide. More than 480 aircraft across 34 airlines are currently enrolled, with several customers expanding their agreements or adding frames to existing contracts. ANA participates with both its 787-8 and 787-9 variants. Recent signings include multiple carriers committing to a combined 65 exchanges for their fleets.
The program operates on a forward-exchange model: Boeing supplies certified, overhauled landing gear units in advance, allowing airlines to swap components quickly and return aircraft to service without waiting for overhaul completion. This approach eliminates the need for carriers to manage expensive in-house landing gear inventories or navigate complex overhaul logistics. It also reduces green time loss—the unused service life remaining on removed components—and cuts overall aircraft-on-ground time.
William Ampofo, Boeing’s senior vice president of Parts & Distribution and Supply Chain, said the 100th delivery highlights the company’s ability to deliver high-value supply chain solutions at scale. “We are ensuring airlines receive critical parts when and where they need them,” Ampofo said. “With the 787-9 fleet entering its major overhaul cycle, we are expanding pool capacity to keep pace with rising global demand.”
Boeing continues to invest in LGE infrastructure and inventory depth to support long-term fleet sustainment. For airlines, the program offers a capital-efficient alternative to direct asset ownership, freeing resources for other operational priorities while maintaining dispatch reliability. By outsourcing landing gear exchange to Boeing, carriers effectively convert a fixed cost center into a variable, usage-aligned expense.
As global air travel stabilizes and widebody utilization rises, the 787 LGE program provides a template for how OEMs can use scale, data, and engineering authority to deliver measurable efficiency gains. For Boeing, the 100th delivery is not just a numeric milestone—it is validation of a services model that increasingly defines aerospace aftermarket strategy.
