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Back in January Boeing’s latest airplane, the 787 Dreamliner, was grounded because of fire related incidents caused by its battery system. Last week the flight ban was finally lifted after nearly three months of the global fleet being grounded. On 27th April, Saturday that is, Ethiopian Airlines became the first airline to begin the first 787 Dreamliner commercial flight with paying passengers on board. This was the first commercial flight since January, 2013.

The flight took off from Addis Ababa and landed safely in Nairobi. The 787 Dreamliner airplane used on this flight is one of the four that Ethiopian Airlines has in its fleet. Boeing has previously said that it will take five days per plane to install the modified battery system, and Ethiopian Airlines CEO confirmed that the remaining three aircraft were being retrofitted with the new battery system. In the U.S., United Airlines has scheduled the started of commercial 787 flights on 31st of May. ANA, a Japanese airlines, has the largest Dreamliner flight in the world right now and it will be conducting a test flight first before it schedules commercial flights on this aircraft.

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We’ve covered the whole Boeing 787 Dreamliner saga here. The jet was grounded earlier this year after its faulty battery system caused emergency landing of one flight and filling up of smoke in another. Since then Boeing has developed a new battery system, it has conducted flight certification tests, and only last week the FAA cleared its new battery system which will now be installed on Dreamliner planes that are sitting in hangars across the world. Flights have not resumed as of now, but are expected to in the near future.

Today during the fiscal results call, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said that the aircraft manufacturer is likely to resume deliveries by next month. The company expects to fix all 50 aircraft with the new battery systems by mid-May. Those who, like me, are aching to get on board a 787 would then have to wait for airlines to schedule flights on this jet. Boeing posted a profit of almost 20% in its earnings report despitae analyst’s estimates on the contrary, it seems not all investors haven’t been put off by the whole 787 Dreamliner episode.

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It’s been a few weeks since the Boeing 787 successfully completed testing, but the FAA has finally weighed in on the proposed tweaks to the plane’s faulty lithium-ion batteries. Today the organization approved Boeing’s battery fix, which means the aircraft maker could soon end the three-month grounding of all Dreamliners. The real action will come next week, when the FAA will issue instructions for making changes to the 787s and — according to an official statement — “publish in the Federal Register the final directive that will allow the 787 to return to service.” Airlines operating the Dreamliner, including United and ANA, will be required to install containment and venting systems in addition to replacing the batteries with the new, modified components. This is certainly some good news for Boeing; these past few months haven’t exactly been easy on the company’s pocketbook (or reputation), but it still has plenty of work ahead in retrofitting its 50-strong fleet.

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Via: Reuters

Source: FAA

January was when the global fleet of 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners was grounded after a couple of incidents that lead to emergency landings and smoke filling up in the cockpit. All of that had been due to an issue with the airplane’s battery which was causing it to overheat. Boeing is now testing the new lithium-ion battery system and hopes that the new batteries will be deemed up to safety standards.

In what was the first of two test flights, a Boeing 797 Dreamliner took to the skies at around 12:11 a.m. Pacific Time from Paine Field in Everett, Washington. It was a two hour test flight which was designed to show that all the systems are functioning normally, and that there are no battery related issues now. The 787′s single certification flight is up next, one that will determine if the entire fleet of Boeing’s latest airplane will be ungrounded. According to some estimates, Boeing is losing around $50 million per week while the Dreamliner is grounded. No doubt it wants to get this airplace back in the skies again! Boeing officials believe that it could be back up by the 1st of May.

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Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is the hottest bird in aviation, and while the American-made airliner has already taken flight with passengers aboard, it has yet to land with US-flag air carrier livery along the fuselage. Japan’s All Nippon Airways was the first to take delivery, with the premier pair making their way from the assembly line in September of 2011. Last year Japan Airlines made its first scheduled voyage across the Pacific in a Dreamliner of its own, and we were fortunate enough to fly roundtrip on a domestic ANA flight leaving from Tokyo a few months later. But now the 787 is making its way to an American carrier. As the first US airline to operate the plane, United Airlines is about to take delivery of its first of 50 Dreamliners, which will join the carrier’s fleet to service both existing and new routes, such as Denver to Tokyo, which is set to launch in late March of next year.

We traveled to Boeing’s Everett, Washington factory today for a first look at United’s aircraft. While the Dreamliner looks physically identical to ANA’s plane, the on-board experience is decidedly different from what we saw in Japan. Though the Dreamliner has a very similar layout to United’s bigger 777, it feels roomier thanks to larger windows with dimmable shades, expanded overheard bins and higher ceilings. There’s plenty more to see, though, so jump past the break for a video tour of United’s new mid-size flagship, and a closer look in photos.

Continue reading Boeing prepares to deliver United’s 787 Dreamliner, we climb aboard for a tour (video)

Filed under: Transportation

Boeing prepares to deliver United’s 787 Dreamliner, we climb aboard for a tour (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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