Boeing has begun repairs on the 787 Dreamliner to fix a battery fault that grounded the fleet for three months as it enters talks with airlines to resume deliveries and meet a full-year production target.
ANA, the biggest 787 operator, started repairs Monday morning at four airports around Japan, said spokesman Ryosei Nomura. Japan Airlines has also started fixing the batteries, according to a person familiar with the plan, who declined to be identified as the information isn’t public.
The global fleet of 50 Dreamliners was grounded worldwide Jan. 16 after lithium-ion batteries on two separate planes overheated and melted, causing flights to be canceled and cutting revenue to the operators. Boeing has dispatched about 300 personnel on 10 teams to airlines to install the fix over five days while preparing the handover of new 787s.
“We are starting to have detailed conversations with all of our customers about delivery timing,” Larry Loftis, Boeing 787 vice president and general manager, told journalists in London. “We don’t have specific dates right now.”
Boeing engineers will arrive in India on Wednesday, after the work in Japan, to apply the fix for Air India’s six 787s. The airline expects to resume 787 services by May 15 at the latest, Rohit Nandan, the company’s chairman, said today in New Delhi.
22/04/13 Seattle Times/Robert Wall and Chris Cooper/Bloomberg News
