Dreamliner grounding poised to be lifted

By Phil Davies 

A 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.

Blasts rock finish line at Boston Marathon

UPDATED: Blasts rock finish line at Boston Marathon

By Danny King

Two explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line killed at least three people and injured more than 100 people Monday afternoon.

The blasts took place at about 2:50 p.m. Eastern time about 200 feet apart on downtown Boston’s Boylston Street. Federal authorities have been brought to the city to lead the investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

“It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation,” said FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers in a press conference broadcast Monday evening.

Additionally, a fire or explosion took place at Boston’s John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at about 4:15 p.m., though the Boston Police Department said that incident may have been a fire and may not have been related to the first two explosions. No one was injured in that incident.

Many of the blocks surrounding the blast site will be on lockdown through at least Tuesday as federal, state and local investigators canvas the area for additional information, while law enforcement will be conducting random searches on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway lines, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said during the press conference.

Both the 212-room Lenox Hotel and the 148-room Mandarin Oriental Boston, which are about a half-block and one block west of the finish line, respectively, were evacuated and closed by the Boston Police Department until further notice.

Mandarin Oriental spokeswoman Danielle DeVoe said that no injuries occurred at that hotel.

Additionally, the Fairmont Copley Plaza, which is about a block-and-a-half east of the explosions, is only letting guests and hotel employees into the building, the 383-room hotel said on its Facebook page.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has restricted air space over downtown Boston.

In Washington, Pennsylvania Avenue in the vicinity of the White House was evacuated and closed to pedestrians and vehicles on Monday afternoon as a precaution.

“We will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this,” President Barack Obama said in a briefing. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

Boeing says Dreamliner test flight 'went to plan'

Boeing has said a flight to test the new batteries on the Dreamliner "went to plan".

All 50 Dreamliners in operation have been grounded and orders delayed following a fire in a battery on a Japan Airlines 787 in Boston on January 7 and an emergency landing by an All Nippon Airways aircraft in Japan shortly afterwards when a battery started producing smoke.

A 787 took off at 12:11pm Pacific Time from the airfield at Boeing’s main production plant in Everett, Washington, for the “functional test flight” and returned two hours later.

The aircraft was the first to be fitted with lithium-ion batteries designed to reduce the risk of overheating.

Boeing said it would assess the data and prepare for another test flight to reassure regulators.

The battery redesign plan was approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this month.

US transportation secretary Ray LaHood said at the time: "This comprehensive series of tests will show us whether the proposed battery improvements will work as designed.”

But he added: "We won't allow the plane to return to service unless we're satisfied that the new design ensures the safety of the aircraft and its passengers."

FAA approves Boeing plan to fix Dreamliner battery

By Kate Rice

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Boeing's certification plan for the redesign of the 787 Dreamliner.

The certification plan is the first step toward returning the 787 to service, and will require extensive testing and analysis.

"This comprehensive series of tests will show us whether the proposed battery improvements will work as designed," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Boeing and battery maker clash over 787 fix

By Phil Davies

Boeing and the Japanese company that makes lithium-ion batteries for 787 Dreamliner disagree about what should be included in a package of measures aimed at returning the aircraft to service.

Battery maker GS Yuasa Corporation believes the fix for the battery should include a voltage regulator that could stop electricity from entering the battery, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing government and industry officials.

Boeing proposed its fix to the US Federal Aviation Authority on Friday.

But on Thursday, Yuasa told the agency that its laboratory tests indicated a power surge outside the battery, or other external problem, started the failures on two batteries, according to the newspaper.

The FAA confirmed the meeting with Yuasa, but did not give any details. A Yuasa spokesman declined to comment.

A Boeing spokesman said that the investigation has not showed that overcharging was a factor and that the 787 had quadruple-redundant protection against overcharging in any case.

"Our proposal includes multiple layers of protection covering the known potential probable causes of the events," he said.

He added that Boeing was co-ordinating with key suppliers.

Boeing suggests solution to Dreamliner battery problem

Boeing suggests solution to Dreamliner battery

problem

By Phil Davies  

Boeing has presented measures it hopes will get the Dreamliner back in the air to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The aircraft manufacturer proposed ways to fix the 787’s battery problems which have led to its grounding at a meeting with the FAA on Friday.

Boeing is reported to believe the measures could have the aircraft flying by late March or April.

However, the cause of overheating in a lithium-ion battery on a Japan Airlines 787 has yet to be identified.

The 50 Dreamliners in service around the world have been grounded since January 16 after a battery fire on the Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston and an emergency landing by an All Nippon Airways aircraft in Japan.

Investigators believe a short circuit in one of the battery cells caused overheating that led to the fire which then spread through the battery.

Boeing has proposed insulating the battery’s lithium-ion cells from one another to prevent fire spreading, encasing the battery in a fire-proof shell and installing sensors.

It also proposes a venting mechanism to remove fumes which led to the emergency landing.

Japanese investigators have identified the likely cause of the fumes which led to the emergency landing, reporting they found faulty wiring on the battery of the All Nippon Airways 787.

The aircraft’s auxiliary power unit was incorrectly connected to the main battery. However, the root cause of the battery fire in Boston has not been found.

Japanese transport minister Akihiro Ohta said: “It’s too early to say we are over the hump.”

Aviation analyst Douglas McNeill told the BBC: “Until it’s crystal clear what went wrong the FAA will be reluctant to let the 787s resume [flying].”

US transport secretary Ray LaHood has warned the 787 will not fly again until the FAA is “1,000% sure” the batteries are safe.

Meanwhile, All Nippon Airways is cancelling all Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights until at least the end of May.

More than 1,700 flights in April and May are affected, a period that includes Japan's Golden Week holiday. This takes the total number of affected ANA Dreamliner flights to 3,600.

An ANA spokeswoman told the BBC: "Unfortunately, it includes Golden Week, but we have decided to inform our customers in advance as the prospect for their resumption is still unseen."

ANA is Boeing's biggest Dreamliner customer, with 17 of the world's 50 operational 787s.all of which have been grounded. International regulators grounded all Dreamliners last month in so that safety checks could be carried out on their lithium ion batteries.

Tui puts contingency plans in place for Dreamliner

By Phil Davies

Tui Travel has no plans to cancel its order for 13 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

But the travel group is having to make contingency plans in case deliveries are delayed following trouble with batteries on 787s flown by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways

Chief executive Peter Long said: "Our view is that this is the right airplane for us and we do not intend to change our order for the aircraft.

"We wait to see that these short-term issues are resolved with the regulatory authorities ... but we don't have visibility around how long that will take."

He spoke ahead of the US Federal Aviation Administration granting Boeing the go-ahead to carry out 787 test flights.

Tui hopes to introduce the aircraft in May and plans to operate the aircraft on long-haul routes from Manchester, Gatwick, Glasgow and East Midlands to destinations including Florida, Mexico, Barbados, Cuba, Kenya and Thailand.

Long said: "Our priority is running our own programme and we will have to determine whether this is going to happen in May. We are building contingency plans because we have to."

Regulators around the world grounded the new generation 787 in mid-January after a battery fire in Boston and a second incident involving a battery on a flight in Japan.

The FAA said the test flights will help collect data about battery performance "while the aircraft is airborne".

A Boeing spokesman said the information will "support the continuing investigations into the cause of the recent 787 battery incidents".

"We are confident that the 787 is safe to operate for this flight test activity," he added.

The FAA said it had asked Boeing to conduct extensive pre-flight testing and inspections and that the flights would be conducted "in defined airspace over unpopulated areas".

But the US National Transportation Safety Board said tests carried out by Boeing on Dreamliner batteries, when they were first certified, missed the high risk of fire.

The tests underestimated the frequency of "smoke events" in the lithium ion batteries.

NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said that Boeing's safety checks suggested that a smoke event would occur less than once every 10 million flight hours.

However, 787s have only clocked up 100,000 hours of flight-time since entering commercial services, and have experienced two battery fires.

Hersman said that "the failure rate was higher than predicted as part of the certification process and the possibility that a short circuit in a single cell could propagate to adjacent cells and result in smoke and fire must be reconsidered".

Dreamliner problems force Japan Airlines route postponement

By Phil Davies

Japan Airlines (Jal) has been forced to postpone the launch of Helsinki-Tokyo flights due to the ongoing worldwide grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The four-times-a-week service was due to start on February 25 but has been put on hold “in view of necessary adjustments to Jal's international routes utilising the Boeing 787 aircraft” since the US Federal Aviation Authority imposed the grounding following an emergency landing by an All Nippon Airways 787 on January 16.

Jal said: “The rescheduled date of opening of Jal's Narita-Helsinki service will be announced at a later time and customers with confirmed reservations on concerned flights will be informed about alternative options.

“Jal apologises to all customers and related parties for the inconvenience and concerns caused as a result of recent issues with the 787 fleet.”

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.

Thomson and BA retain faith in troubled Dreamliner

By Ian Taylor

  The The bosses of British Airways’ parent IAG and Thomson Airways were united in their confidence in the new Dreamliner at this year’s Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards.

The world’s Boeing 787 fleet remained grounded as Travel Weekly went to press, with investigators focused on the manufacture of batteries for the aircraft following an emergency landing by an ANA 787 in Japan last week.

Boeing has postponed deliveries of the aircraft, putting Thomson Airways’ 787 programme in jeopardy.

However, Thomson still expects to receive its first 787 next month and begin flights on May 1.

Speaking at the awards, Chris Browne, managing director of Thomson Airways, said: “Veterans in the industry understand teething problems occur.

“At Thomson we have been waiting a very long time [for the Dreamliner] and we are confident in the safety of the Dreamliner. I have every confidence in Boeing to fix this issue.”

International Airlines Group chief executive Willie Walsh described the delivery delay as “temporary”, but warned “deliveries could be affected” if the grounding is extended. BA is also due to receive its first 787 in May.

Walsh said: “I remain confident about the 787. It is not unusual for a new aircraft to suffer problems. We remain committed to the aircraft. The battery issue has come as a surprise. We have to wait for the authorities to report.”

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the aircraft after burn marks on a lithium-ion battery in the ANA aircraft matched those on a battery following a fire aboard a Japan Airlines 787 in Boston a week earlier. The FAA said the ban on flying would last until the batteries are demonstrated to be safe.

About 1,000 industry guests attended the Globes at London’s Grosvenor House last Thursday, presented by comedian Michael McIntyre, with entertainment from X Factor singer Jahmene Douglas.