Dreamliner back in service in ‘weeks’: Boeing

AFP: The grounded Dreamliner is “absolutely” safe and will be back in the air within weeks, planemaker Boeing said in Japan yesterday, as it sought to reassure airlines and passengers about its aircraft.

The 50 planes grounded around the world since two lithium-ion battery malfunctions sparked a global no-fly order in mid-January will get fixes to their systems and be operational again soon, senior executives said.

“I get often asked if I think the airplane is still safe. My answer is simple: Absolutely,” Mike Sinnett, the chief project engineer on the 787, told reporters.

The Dreamliner “is among the safest airplanes our company has ever produced”, he added.

Ray Connor, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said fixes the company had put in place and which were now undergoing flight testing meant the aircraft would be back in the skies soon.

“We are going to be dependent upon (moving) through the certification process. We will determine when we actually get back in the air in terms of flights,” he said.

“Previously as I have been anticipating that in months, we are talking more along the line of weeks,” he said.

The pair was speaking as part of a push by the manufacturer to explain how it planned to remedy problems that have badly knocked confidence in one of the world’s most advanced aircraft.

The company chose to give its first public explanation of the fix in Japan, home to two of its biggest customers -- All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines -- and to suppliers who make around a third of the aircraft’s parts.

The Dreamliner has been lauded for its use of next-generation materials that have cut weight and slashed fuel costs.