Boeing 787 news

[sn26567]

BA to fit First Class on itd B787-9 Dreamliners

British Airways has confirmed that its B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, the first of which will arrive next year, will be fitted with its next generation First cabin.

The announcement makes BA the first European airline to install first class on a Dreamliner. China Southern was the first airline worldwide to have first on the Dreamliner.

The carrier's current B787-8 is fitted with three cabins — Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.

But its forthcoming B787-9, which is slightly larger and can fly longer sectors, will with the addition of First have a four-class configuration.

[RoMax]

I am not following anymore...Air India turns with the wind it seems. Although it has to be said many statements come out in the Indian media as "AI is .../AI says .../AI thinks..." while AI itself never officially confirmed such statements.
Rohit Nandan (managing director and chairman of Air India) their Boeing 787 fleet has a dispatch reliability of 98.6%, which is "just a notch below" its 777 fleet. Nandan said they are satisfied with the overall quality of service from the aircraft and happy with the fuel efficiency. This in contrast to earlier statements that AI was not happy about either reliability and fuel efficiency.

But Nandan also says that the aircraft were heavier than promissed (but that's nothing new). He said they'll continue to collect performance data until the end of 2014 to see if they are in line with the promises of Boeing.

After receiving its latest aircraft last week, Air India currently has a fleet of 13 Dreamliners, with the 14th planned in April, but this could shift due to the inspections (and possible repairs) on the lastest 787's for wing cracks.

http://atwonline.com/airframes/air-indi ... ly+News%29

[Desert Rat]

DR @ 98.1% for the 787...

Not very impressive...

[RoMax]

DR @ 98.1% for the 787...

What's the source? I've heard DR numbers of the total operational 787 fleet that were higher already months ago.

[Desert Rat]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-ce ... 00222.html

It was around 97% six months ago, it has improved to 98.1% in March this year, but it is still far away from the 99.2 two year fleet target.

For info, the DR of the 777 was almost 99% after 2 years of operations.

[sn26567]

Norwegian Air suspends talks to buy 20 new Boeing 787-9s. Delay in obtaining DOT approval for long-haul plans is cited as the main cause of the suspension.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/04/2 ... 3220140428

[sn26567]

Royal Jordanian will take delivery of its first Boeing 787 in AUG14 and it will receive four more aircraft by the end of 2014.

Royal Jordanian confirms it will configure its new Boeing 787s with 270 seats: 24 full-flat seats in Crown Class and 246 seats in Economy. Not a record, but a dense configuration...

[Passenger]

Press release NTSB 22/05/2014:
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/140522.html

NTSB ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS ON CERTIFICATION OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board issued a series of recommendations today related to the evaluation and certification of lithium-ion batteries for use in aircraft systems, as well as the certification of new technology.

The five safety recommendations, all addressed to the Federal Aviation Administration, are derived from the NTSB's ongoing investigation of the January 7, 2013, fire event that occurred in a lithium-ion battery on a Boeing 787 that was parked at Boston Logan Airport.

Investigators found that the battery involved in the Boston 787 fire event showed evidence not just of an internal thermal runaway but that "unintended electrical interactions occurred among the cells, the battery case, and the electrical interfaces between the battery and the airplane."

The 12-page safety recommendation letter said that the processes used in 2006 to support the certification of the lithium-ion battery designed for the 787 were inadequate, in part, because there is no standardized thermal runaway test that's conducted in the environment and conditions that would most accurately reflect how the battery would perform when installed and operated on an in-service airplane.

Further, the NTSB said that because there is no such standardized thermal runaway test, lithium-ion battery designs on airplanes currently in service might not have adequately accounted for the hazards associated with internal short circuiting.

In its examination of the challenges associated with introducing newer technologies into already complex aircraft systems, the NTSB said that including subject matter experts outside of the aviation industry "could further strengthen the aircraft certification process" by ensuring that both the FAA and the aircraft manufacturer have access to the most current research and information related to the developing technology.

To address all of these issues, the NTSB asked the FAA to do the following:

* Develop an aircraft-level thermal runaway test to demonstrate safety performance in the presence of an internal short circuit failure ;
* Require the above test as part of certification of future aircraft designs;
* Re-evaluate internal short circuit risk for lithium-ion batteries now in-service;
* Develop guidance for thermal runaway test methods;
* Include a panel of independent expert consultants early in the certification process for new technologies installed on aircraft.

"The history of commercial aviation is one in which emerging technologies have played a key role in enhancing flight safety," said NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart. "This is why it's crucial that the process by which these technologies are evaluated and certified is as robust and thorough as possible. These recommendations will take us further in that direction."

The final report on the January 2013 Boston 787 battery fire investigation is estimated to be completed in the fall.

The full text of the safety recommendation letter to the FAA is available at http://go.usa.gov/8XaV.

All of the information and resources the NTSB has released for this investigation can be accessed from the following page: http://go.usa.gov/4K4J.

(end of press release)

[sn26567]

Air India again seeking compensation from Boeing over B787s

Air India is once again in talks with Boeing regarding compensation for what it claims is the failure of its B787-8s to live up to their pre-determined fuel efficiency performance guarantees.

“Boeing has agreed that the weight is higher than what was previously indicated leading to lower fuel efficiency. They have agreed that they could not give the plane as promised. There is a commitment that they will discuss in good faith and will have a positive outlook to our demands for compensation,” an Air India official told India's Express.

As part of the investigation into the poor fuel burn, Air India had collected data for the past 24 months with the results now collated and presented to the US manufacturer.

Sources in the airline claim the aircraft, which had promised a 17% improvement in fuel efficiency over the A330, had only delivered 13-14%. In addition, it had claimed to be 37% more efficient than the B777 but had only shown an improvement of 28-30%.

"As far as the fuel efficiency is concerned, when Air India received these planes, even at that time, we knew that the planes were heavier than what they were originally promised to be," Rohit Nandan, chairman of India's state-run carrier, said. Air India was among the first operators to receive the revolutionary new aircraft though its initial batch was sourced from the "Terrible Teen" B787s - so-called for their operational problems and technical shortfalls.

Having already sought and received compensation for the late delivery of the aircraft in 2012, Air India now expects to reach an agreement with the manufacturer by year-end.

However, despite the difficulties experienced with the aircraft, Air India last week reaffirmed its commitment to the type by raising a bridge loan of USD410million for the purchase of four more Dreamliner jets. The aircraft form the crux of Air India's ambitious turnaround plan, aimed at improving the carrier's operational efficiency while driving down fuel costs.

Of the twenty-seven B787-8s Air India ordered in 2007, fourteen have so far been delivered with a two more expected in June and July. A further two are scheduled for delivery before the year end.

Source: ch-aviation

[PYX]

Interesting since several months ago one of the Japanese airlines reported a 21% improvement in fuel burn alone vs. the 767 (which the 787 is replacing).

[KriVa]

In my opinion (and this is just that, MY opinion), Air India will do pretty much everything to get the last cent in compensation.
Looking at their loads, management, and reputation, I can't say I'm surprised.

[sn26567]

On the same day Boeing announced the certification of the 787-9 (see viewtopic.php?p=300915#p300915), the 787-8 has now flown its 20,000,000th passenger after 100,000 revenue flights.

[RoMax]

So far the only the RR powered 787-9 is certified, the GE version still has to fullfil its final stages of the certification program. But the first customers ordered RR versions, so that's normal.

Boeing also received some time-limited excemptions from the FAA regardig the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) and an altitude-select know in the cockpit, which are not working upon certification standards. Last week Boeing said that without time-limited exemptions, the certification proces could be delayed.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... te-400437/

[sn26567]

ANA, which was one of the very rare airlines to still offer the 2-4-2 seating considered as standard by Boeing for the economy class, now also introduces a fourth configuration for its Boeing 787-8 International, featuring 3-3-3 in Economy. Configuration is C42 Y198.



Source: Airline Route

[Desert Rat]

Delivery of the B787 to Thai delayed from 2nd of July to 11th of July...

B787 Air Canada flying Toronto- Halifax twice a day for IOE flight.

[sn26567]

The first 787 for Avianca is on the Boeing assembly line :

[sn26567]

Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that it will make a high profile Boston introduction for its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on 28 October and fly six times a week from Heathrow.

[sn26567]

CAPA has made a 787 network analysis: 20% of Dreamliner routes are new, the other 80% replace aircraft on existing routes.

Norwegian is the airline that has opened the most new routes (9). ANA has opened five routes with the 787; Air India and Thomson each four. JAL and United each opened three new routes. Ethiopian and Qatar opened two routes, British Airways and Hainan Airlines each opened one new route. More than half of 787 operators have not opened any new routes – yet.

http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/7 ... tes-176665

[Desert Rat]

Quebec Alpha

[sn26567]

ANA today received its first 787-9. Both ANA and Air New Zealand have scheduled their first 789 revenue flight for 14 August. Who will be first?