Tag Archives: 787

Plane spotting at Houston: United’s 787s back in flight

Through the month of May, on two separate occasions I had the pleasure to do plane spotting at Houston’s two airports, Hobby and Intercontinental. The Houston airport system authorities support their local spotters well, making both airports amongst the most friendliest to spot at in the United States. A special thanks to the friendly folks at the Houston Spotters who …

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Boeing commences production of the first larger Dreamliner 787-9

Boeing has commenced final assembly of the first 787-9 Dreamliner, the newest variant of the new generation largely composite aircraft. The 787-9 is the longer version of the existing 787-8 with its fuselage stretched by 20 feet increasing the aircraft length to 206 feet. The 787-9 will be able to carry 40 more passengers an additional 300 nautical miles (555 …

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Boeing delivers first Dreamliners to China and UK

US airframer Boeing made deliveries of the first Dreamliners to China and the United Kingdom when it delivered 787-8 aircraft to China Southern Airlines and UK’s Thomson Airways on May 31. China Southern has 10 Dreamliners on order. The airline will follow the patterns of other 787 operators and first operate the aircraft on shorter domestic flights before introducing the …

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As 787 Dreamliners return, passengers face economy class discomfort

As its much vaunted state of the art jetliner, the 787 Dreamliner returns to the skies, US airframer Boeing faces a dilemma. On the one hand Boeing has incorporated many improvements in the composite fuselage aircraft, which was meant to improve passenger comfort. These include Windows that are about 30% bigger, allowing more natural light. Windows also feature an electronic …

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Japan Airines’ plans for re-induction of the 787 Dreamliner and fleet re-deployment globally

JAL 787 at New Delhi prior to grounding The Japan Airlines (JAL) Group has announced its plans for flights and a phased re-introduction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in to service around June 1, 2013. The airline has set up a 787 dedicated micro-site on its website to explain the 787 fixes. A new daily 787 non-stop service between Tokyo …

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Boeing to begin modifying 787s for return to service

Boeing image Today’s approval of battery system improvements for the 787 Dreamliner by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clears the way for Boeing and its customers to install the approved modifications and will lead to a return to service and resumption of new production deliveries. The FAA’s action will permit the return to service of 787s in the United …

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FAA Approves Boeing 787 Battery System Design Changes

The long grounded Boeing 787 fleet across the world are expected to soon return to the skies, as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today took the next step in returning the Boeing 787 to flight by approving Boeing’s design for modifications to the 787 battery system. The changes are designed to address risks at the battery cell level, the …

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United States NTSB identifies origin of Japan Airlines’ Boeing 787 battery fire – Update 1

by Devesh Agarwal Updated Feb 8, 2013, 0100 GMT, 0630 IST At a news conference today, NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman identified the origin of the Jan. 7 battery fire that occurred on a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston Logan Airport, and said that a focus of the investigation will be on the design and certification requirements of the …

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Analysis: Qantas restructures Asian operations, looking at Indian service from 2016 onwards

by Vinay Bhaskara Qantas A380 – Image courtesy QANTAS Earlier today, Australian national carrier Qantas announced a restructuring of its Asian network. After launching an in-depth partnership with Middle Eastern carrier Emirates and switching its Kangaroo Route services to operate via Dubai instead of Asia, Qantas announced a renewed focus on strengthening its Asian operation. The key features of the …

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Japan Airlines faces much smaller impact of Boeing 787 grounding

by Devesh Agarwal The impact of the month old grounding of their Boeing 787 Dreamliners on Japan Airlines (JAL) appears to much smaller when compared to fellow Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA). “We operated only six Dreamliners out of a fleet of 200 aircraft, so the total impact of the Dreamliner grounding on us is very small” JAL CEO …

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US NTSB investigation updates on Japan Airlines Boeing 787 fire at Boston

The National Transportation Safety Board released the fourth update on its on-going investigation into the January 7th fire aboard a Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 787, registration JA829J, at Logan International Airport in Boston, USA. The fire occurred after the airplane had landed and no passengers or crew were on-board. The burnt APU battery unit The agency has still not found …

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News Digest – Press Releases – 2nd half January 2013

Japan Airlines releases nine month traffic data ending December 2012 — MIAL awards contract for duty free at New T2 at CSIA Duty free shops awarded to a consortium led by Aer Rianta International cpt. Fashion, Luxury and Lifestyle awarded to Nuance Group India Pvt Ltd Mumbai, January 24, 2013 – Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL), managed by GVK-led …

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Air India may not get compensation from Boeing for 787 grounding

by Vinay Bhaskara After Air India joined most global operators of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in grounding the aircraft following a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) emergency directive due to issues with the 787’s Lithium-Ion batteries, the beleaguered Indian national carrier is reportedly seeking compensation from Boeing for the losses caused by the grounding. India’s civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said …

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Update 1: Air India grounds its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, after FAA emergency directive

by Devesh Agarwal The fleet of six Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners of state-owned national carrier Air India has been grounded by the country’s aviation regulator the DGCA, which took this decision following the issue of an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the regulator in the country of manufacture, and also the certifying body of the …

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FAA grounds the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

by Vinay Bhaskara Earlier today, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all flights of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the United States due to the recent issues with the Lithium-Ion batteries on-board several different 787s, which are attributed as the cause for the recent fire of the engine of a Japan Airlines 787 in Boston as well as several …

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Air India stands by its Boeing 787 Dreamliners as Japan grounds almost 50% of the global fleet

by Devesh Agarwal National carrier Air India has stood by the six Boeing 787 Dreamliners in its fleet, even as safety concerns grounded the 787 fleet at the first two operators of the aircraft, both from Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL). Between the two of them, ANA and JAL operate almost 50% of the global 787 …

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Indian Aviation Review 2012. Part 2: The airlines’ analyses

by Vinay Bhaskara As promised, here is the second part of Indian Aviation’s 2012 review, with an airline by airline analysis of the events in 2012. Air India 2012 was another banner year in Air India’s agonizingly slow death spiral. Whether it was yet more labor turmoil related to the still not completed merger with Indian Airlines, a botched Entry …

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Air India first airline to commence scheduled Boeing 787 Dreamliner service to Paris CDG (Roissy)

by Devesh Agarwal National carrier Air India, became the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner operator to commence scheduled commercial services to Paris, Charles De Gaulle (Roissy) airport earlier today. AI-143 will depart Delhi at 13:10 daily, arrive Paris, at 18:05.AI-142, will depart Paris 21:30, arrive Delhi at 10:10 the next day. Air India is gradually expanding operations of its Boeing 787 …

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Jet Airways international fleet and network operations analysis

by Vinay Bhaskara A recent report from Flightglobal quoted Boeing Asia head Dinesh Keskar as saying that India’s largest full service carrier, Jet Airways, could potentially convert existing order into the larger Boeing 787-9 variant. Jet Airways currently has 10 Boeing 787-8s on order for delivery from 2014 onwards, but Mr. Keskar said, “”If they do that [convert orders to …

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Timeline and Fleet Matrix of Turkish Airlines expansion

by Vinay Bhaskara Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines has been pursuing a strategy of rapid fleet and destination growth over the past few years. Already, they are the airline which serves the most countries in the world, and  they have already announced plans to start 41 new destinations over the next two years. The following table details Turkish Airlines’ expansion plans over the …

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