Four passengers on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787-8 flight from Tokyo to Beijing were injured on August 15th.

AV Herald reports that the 787, registered JA808A and performing flight NH-963, had hit severe turbulence. This caused members of the 225 people on board to get hurt. The crew illuminated the fasten seat belt signs just before they encountered the turbulence. However, four injuries still occurred.

According to Japan's Ministry of Transport, the aircraft was descending through 5,500 meters and around 140km (76nm) northeast of Beijing. The plane then jolted, causing two passengers and two flight attendants to receive serious injuries.

The flight continued on for a safe landing on Beijing's runway 01 half an hour later. The injured parties were then taken to hospitals once alighted. One of the injured passengers was a 60-year old lady who received a fracture of her right instep.

Two months ago, another ANA Boeing 787-8 aircraft had an incident mid-flight. The Japan Times reported that the jet made an emergency 10,000-meter descent over the Pacific on June 3rd. This was due to the aircraft suffering glitches in both of its air-conditioning and pressurization systems.

According to Japan’s transport ministry, the air-conditioning and pressurization systems stalled when the ANA plane was flying at an altitude of around 13,000 meters about 580 kilometers northeast of Narita International Airport.

Despite these isolated incidents, ANA is set to enjoy growth within their network next month. The airline announced the launch of direct Tokyo to Perth services starting in September. This will be the first time that residents of Perth will have direct services to the capital of Japan since 2011. Qantas was the last carrier to fly on this route and now ANA is set to take it on.

The Japan based outfit will also use a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on this service. The aircraft is a popular option for its 184 seats across business, premium economy and economy cabins.

While investing heavily in Boeing aircraft, ANA is also a fan of the Airbus A380. The company ordered a total of three Airbus A380 aircraft this year, with two of them already having been delivered. The aircraft will only serve one route for now, which is between Tokyo and Hawaii. ANA hopes to increase its market share with of the Hawaii – Tokyo route with this model. This previously stood at 15% but is now set to grow to 25%.

These ventures come at a time when ANA announced a grand purchase of $4bn worth of aircraft. The announcement confirmed the board of ANA Holdings' approved plans to purchase 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. They are also preparing an order of 18 Airbus A320neos for their budget brand, Peach. Also, they have confirmed an investment of a 9.5% stake in Philippine Airlines.

ANA will no doubt be looking to address the causes of these mid-flight incidents over the last few months as they continue their investments.

Simple Flying reached out to ANA for comment on the incident but had not heard back prior to publication. We will update with any further announcements.