Boeing remains upbeat about Dreamliner’s future
All 50 of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners remain grounded after a series of incidents linked to its lithium ion batteries. As a result Japan’s All Nippon Airways has cancelled more than 350 flights in February, including international flights to Seattle. But Boeing remains upbeat about the plane’s future and is confident that despite the safety scares, airlines won’t be cancelling future orders for the aircraft.
Dinesh Keskar is Boeing’s senior vice president for Asia Pacific and India. He told the BBC no companies have asked for compensation following the grounding of the Dreamliner and defended the safety of the battery.
“Lithium ion batteries, there have been issues in the past, but at the same time we carefully analyzed everything. Went through the process of certification and we believe that’s the right choice even today.”
Authorities in Japan and the U.S. are currently investigating whether the batteries are the cause of the problem, but nothing conclusive has yet been found. In the meantime, Boeing has asked U.S. regulators for permission to run test flights of the Dreamliner. Keskar admits the company still doesn’t know when the plane will be back in the skies.
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