-- To keep Dreamliners grounded until completion of US probe
-- Making alternative arrangement for Dreamliner passengers
-- Grounding setback to Air India's efforts to turnaround
(Rewrites, adds comment from Air India, background, details)
By Santanu Choudhury
NEW DELHI--Air India Ltd. Thursday temporarily grounded all its
six Boeing 787 Dreamliners, making the flag carrier the latest
airline to suspend flights of the jetliners following a series of
incidents including battery fires and fuel leaks.
The decision is a setback to Air India's efforts to turnaround
its operations after posting losses for five straight years. It may
also lead to a potential delay in the induction of additional
Dreamliner jets into the airline's fleet.
India's civil aviation regulator has asked the carrier to ground
the jetliners until the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has
completed its review into the safety issues, Arun Mishra, director
general of civil aviation, told The Wall Street Journal.
Separately, India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said a
decision about the 787s would be taken only after the FAA approves
the safety of the jets.
U.S. air-safety regulators are probing the incidents on the
Dreamliners. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is
working with air-safety regulators in Japan, while the FAA has
started a comprehensive review of the aircraft last Friday.
The move to ground Air India's newest planes followed the FAA's
directive to ground all U.S.-registered Dreamliners, pending checks
on the safety of the aircraft's batteries.
That came after Japan's two largest carriers--All Nippon Airways
Co. (9202.TO) and Japan Airlines Co. (9201.TO)--temporarily
grounded their Dreamliners for inspections after an incident
Wednesday that led to an emergency landing of an ANA jet in Japan.
Chile's LAN Airlines, part of Latam Airlines Group SA (LFL,
LAN.SN), also announced that it will temporarily suspend flights of
its three Dreamliners.
Air India was among the early customers for the 787, ordering 27
Dreamliners in January 2006. It has received six of them so far.
The carrier plans to take the delivery of six more jets by the end
of December and the remaining 15 through 2016.
An Air India spokesman said the carrier is working on
alternative arrangements to accommodate the passengers who were
booked on Dreamliner flights. The options include using other
planes on the routes served by the 787s, as well as shifting
passengers to other carriers, he added.
Air India used the Dreamliners to operate daily flights on three
domestic routes as well as to Paris, Dubai and Frankfurt.
The Dreamliner formed the core of Air India's strategy to move
toward profitability by using new fuel-efficient planes and
replacing older, fuel-guzzling aircraft. The carrier has posted
losses since 2007 when the government merged the erstwhile Indian
Airlines Ltd. and Air India to create the current entity.
Boeing has marketed the Dreamliner as 20% more fuel-efficient
than similarly sized jets. The Dreamliner is made of composite
materials and a vast network of electronics, a shift from aluminum
and hydraulics used in conventional jets. More than 50 suppliers
have worked with Boeing on the plane.
The delivery of the planes to Air India were delayed by more
than four years, with the first aircraft arriving last September.
The same month, the jet developed a snag in its power equipment
liquid cooling system and electrical power system.
Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@dowjones.com
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