Boeing vows to continue production of Dreamliner

Boeing intends to deliver more than 60 Dreamliners to airlines this year despite the aircraft being grounded since mid-January by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

That may offer little comfort to Thomson Airways as it awaits delivery of its first 787 next month.

The FAA grounded the aircraft following a fire on a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston and anemergency landing by an All Nippon Airways (ANA) 787 in Japan.

Boeing has suspended deliveries while investigations proceed in the US and Japan, focused on the lithium-ion batteries used as part of the 787’s power system.

However, Boeing chairman and chief executive Jim McNerney said yesterday: “Production of the 787 continues as planned. We remain confident in the integrity of the programme and the safety of the aircraft.”

He told analysts: “We will get to the bottom of this and restore confidence.”

McNerney was speaking as Boeing presented full year results and guidance for 2013, with the company reporting 2012 was its second-best year ever for orders and deliveries.

However, he did so as the two Japanese carriers involved revealed they had repeatedly changed the 787 batteries which are the focus of investigation.

ANA said it had changed the batteries 10 times because of problems in advance of the emergency landing this month.

McNerney refused to comment on speculation the aircraft could be grounded for an extended period as investigators have so far failed to identify the cause of the problem.

He said: “We can’t predict the outcome. We are making progress. We have every expert in the world looking at this issue. Our plan is to continue production of the 787.

“I can’t talk about particulars of the investigation. But I am confident we will identify the root cause of these incidents. When we have the answer we will act on it.”

Thomson Airways, part of Tui Travel, is awaiting news of the investigation with special interest. It is set to be the first UK airline to operate the 787 and was due to take delivery of its first Dreamliner in late February.

Boeing declined to comment on deliveries to specific customers, but a February delivery appears highly unlikely.

McNerney said: “We are limited in what we can say. We deeply regret the impact on customers.”

Thomson has also declined to comment on the delivery date until it receives notification of any changes from Boeing.

However, McNerney revealed Boeing plans to increase production of the 787 from the current five a month to seven a month by mid-2013 and to 10 a month by the end of the year.

Sixth Dreamliner problem forces grounding in Japan

Jan 16, 2013

Further question marks are being raised over the new generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner after Japan's two main airlines grounded the aircraft.

The decision was talen after one was forced to make an emergency landing over night because of battery problems.

All Nippon Airways grounded its fleet of 17 Dreamliners after a flight from Yamaguchi Ube in western Japan was forced to land shortly after takeoff.

The ANA flight landed at Takamatsu airport at 8:47am local time on Wednesday after the pilot saw an error message and smoke was seen in the cockpit.

Japan Airlines then followed suit, saying it would take its fleet of seven 787s out of service from today (January 16) until further notice.

Dreamliners have suffered a total of six issues, including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire, in recent weeks.

ANA said that the 129 passengers and 8 crew were evacuated, with a number of people sustaining minor injuries.

Five people were injured, according to Reuters, while Bloomberg said that one person was sent to hospital.

A Boeing spokesman told the BBC that the company was "aware of the diversion of a 787 operated by ANA to Takamatsu in western Japan".

He added that Boeing "will be working with our customer and the appropriate regulatory agencies".

Boeing was already facing a probe by Japanese and US authorities over its Dreamliner issues.

The US Federal Aviation Administration last week started a broad review of the design, manufacturing and assembly of the Dreamliner.

India's aviation regulator said it would review the Dreamliner's safety and talk to parts makers following the ANA incident.

United Airlines is the only US carrier currently flying Dreamliners, and the carrier said it was not taking any immediate action.

Thomson Airways is due to start flying the 787 this year followed by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Heathrow remains top despite fall in transfer traffic

Heathrow’s position as the UK’s major hub airport has been confirmed by a new UK airports study – although the proportion of connecting passengers dropped last year.

Research by the Civil Aviation Authority found that Heathrow had the highest proportion of connecting passengers of all airports in England last year with 36% changing aircraft, down from 38% in 2009 but up from 2008’s figure of 35% and 34% in 2007.

The majority of passengers using Heathrow and London City airports in 2010 were foreign residents who represented respectively 58% and 51% of their total passengers.  Heathrow’s percentage of foreign passengers has risen from 55% since 2007.

London City was the most “business-centric” airport in the study, with 63% of its passengers travelling for business, returning almost to the airport’s pre-recession 2006 level and representing a seven percentage point improvement on 2009. The next highest was Humberside with 32% and Heathrow with 30%.

The airports with the highest proportion of leisure passengers were Doncaster with 97% and East Midlands with 92%. Passenger income in general continued to grow when measured against airports surveyed in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

At Heathrow, the average leisure passenger’s household income increased by £2,000 to £60,000 and at Manchester the average business traveller’s income rose from £65,000 to £68,000.

Average leisure passenger household income dropped slightly at both Gatwick and Luton airports.

Travellers from Heathrow took a higher proportion of trips over two weeks in length than anywhere else, at 23%. London City had the lowest proportion at only 2%.

Outside of London, the highest percentage of trips over two weeks was recorded at Humberside, with 18%. The lowest was at East Midlands at 6%.

The survey was based on interviews with 200,000 departing passengers about their travel patterns at five London-area airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City - and seven regional airports - Birmingham, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester and East Midlands.

CAA regulatory policy director Iain Osborne said: “The CAA surveys people using the UK’s airports to make sure that we understand how and why people travel by air to make sure that our regulation is tailored to their needs.

“This year’s results will inform our response to the Government’s work to develop an Aviation Policy Framework – with information about how passengers use the country’s major airports particularly relevant to government.”

ANA Dreamliner suffers landing gear problem

Nov 08, 2011 08:10AM GMT

A probe has been launched into a landing gear problem with the first of two Boeing 787 Dreamliners delivered to All Nippon Airways less than two weeks ago.

Pilots were forced to deploy the landing gear using a manual backup system after an indicator lamp suggested the wheels were not properly down.

The aircraft landed at Okayama at the second attempt following the incident on Sunday, the airline said.

“We are not yet sure what the problem was, but we are investigating,” an ANA spokesman said, adding that Boeing is also involved in the investigation.

A Boeing spokesman said: “We are aware of this matter and are on site in Japan with ANA offering whatever assistance they require.”

The incident comes days after a Boeing 767 landed on its belly in Warsaw after the landing gear failed to deploy. ANA plans to fly the new generation lightweight aircraft on domestic routes in Japan on a trial basis before putting it on long international routes.