Boeing Resumes Dreamliner Deliveries

A Dreamliner in ANA livery at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

Launch customer All Nippon Airways became the first airline to take delivery of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft following a four-month hiatus.  The high-tech plane was grounded on January 16 following two incidents relating to its lithium-ion batteries.

The delivery on Tuesday brings ANA’s fleet up to 18 and the airline recently announced it will resume Dreamliner flights on June 1.  Boeing plans to delivery “more than 60” 787s to customers in 2013.

The last Dreamliner delivery was to Air India and took place in January, although it was accounted for in March.  Air India plans to resume flights Wednesday.  United Airlines, the only U.S. operator of the aircraft, will restart domestic Dreamliner flights on May 20 and international ones in June.

The jet that ANA took delivery of was modified at Boeing’s factory with the retrofit that the airframe maker developed to address the problems that were caused by the lithium-ion batteries’ original design.  The new design features modified batteries with a new containment and venting system.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)