Tag Archives: boeing 787

Dreamliner completes first flight since grounding

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Dreamliner completes first flight since grounding

By Phil Davies

Dreamliner completes first flight since groundingThe first Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight has been successfully completed since the aircraft was grounded in January.

The Ethiopian Airlines 787 flew passengers from Addis Ababa to Nairobi after aviation authorities approved a revamped battery design.

Japanese airlines, which have been the biggest customers for the new-generation aircraft, were due to begin test flights yesterday.

Boeing is expected to complete repairs on all 50 of the grounded Dreamliners by the middle of May.

UK launch customer Thomson Airways is expected to receive the first of its delayed 787s in June followed by British Airways.

Dreamliner grounding poised to be lifted

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Dreamliner grounding poised to be lifted

By Phil Davies

Dreamliner grounding poised to be liftedA three-month grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners could begin to be lifted as early as today.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is tipped to announce Boeing has demonstrated that the 787’s redesigned batteries are safe.

Regulators have been convinced that various internal enhancements and a new protective metal container will prevent fires and automatically suck smoke or toxic fumes out of the aircraft, theWall Street Journal reported.

Foreign regulators are expected to follow the FAA’s lead. That means many of the fuel-efficient 787s could resume carrying passengers as early as May.

FAA chief Michael Huerta and transportation secretary Ray LaHood are poised to give the green light for Boeing to help airlines retrofit more than 50 Dreamliners.

The 787s were grounded globally in January after lithium-ion batteries burned on a pair of aircraft in little more than a week.

The fixes are expected to take less than a handful of days, but other aircraft testing and refresher training for pilots could stretch into additional weeks.

After the expected announcement, Boeing will issue a service bulletin instructing airlines how to revamp the battery systems, and the FAA will issue a formal safety directive mandating the changes.

Branson pins profit hopes on Dreamliner

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Branson pins profit hopes on Dreamliner

By Robin Searle

Branson pins profit hopes on DreamlinerDelivery of Boeing’s troubled 787 aircraft will be crucial to Virgin Atlantic’s aim of returning to profitability by 2015, according to the airline’s president Sir Richard Branson.

Speaking to Travel Weekly during the inaugural celebrations for Virgin’s domestic offshoot Little Red in Edinburgh, Branson said he felt the target was viable and dependent on the integration of more cost-effective aircraft.

“As long as the 787s don’t get delayed again, there is every chance that it can be possible,” he said.

Virgin is due to take delivery of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner in late summer 2014 as part of a wider fleet overhaul. It also hopes to boost revenue with the launch of Little Red services from Heathrow to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Manchester and through an expected tie-up with Delta Air Lines in the US.

Virgin’s new chief executive Craig Kreeger believes the airline can transform a loss, expected to be about £130 million for the financial year to February 2013, into a profit within two years.

“(To return to profit) our strategy includes trying to find new sources of revenue, and that includes creating connectivity through Little Red and through the relationship with Delta,” said Kreeger.

“We have made some tough decisions, including a pay freeze for staff, but we have to ensure that no decisions are made at the expense of the customer or our people.”

The two airlines filed an application with the US Department of Transportation seeking antitrust immunity for their joint venture this week.

Speaking about the appointment of former American Airlines executive Kreeger, Branson said: “Craig has a lot of experience in the States, and through the Delta deal the States is going to play a bigger and bigger role in Virgin Atlantic’s future.”