TOKYO--Boeing Co. (BA) said Thursday it will explain its
proposed package of fixes for the batteries on its 787 Dreamliner
in Tokyo on Friday, the first time company executives will openly
discuss details of safety enhancements they hope will enable
airlines to resume worldwide commercial service using the
aircraft.
Raymond Conner, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Mike
Sinnett, head of Boeing's 787 program, will speak Friday morning to
"provide details on the proposed permanent solution to the 787
battery issue." The solution aims to prevent possible overheating
and fires in the 787's lithium-ion batteries.
Boeing said the 90-minute briefing will also be broadcast as a
live webcast from 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT).
The briefing comes the same week Boeing received initial
approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for its
proposed set of fixes. The decision came as welcome news for the
Chicago-based plane maker as it seeks to end the two-month-long
grounding of its flagship jetliner.
The FAA described the decision as "the first step in the process
to evaluate the 787's return to" commercial service. Boeing now has
the green light to start test flights as well as "extensive"
additional safety analysis of the new safety measures.
Two separate incidents involving overheated and burned
lithium-ion batteries installed on two Dreamliners in January
sparked a worldwide grounding of the jet. High-profile
investigations in the U.S. and Japan--where the two incidents
occurred--have made frustratingly little progress in identifying
the root cause.
Boeing's decision to hold the event in Tokyo over its home base
in the U.S. indicates the importance of keeping two of the 787's
biggest customers happy. Japan Airlines Co. (9201.TO) and All
Nippon Airways Co. (9202.TO) together own nearly half of the 50
jets that were in service before the grounding. Both battery
incidents also took place on 787s operated by the Japanese
carriers.
The Boeing executives came to Tokyo in late February to relay
its proposed "permanent solution" to Japan's transport minister,
regulators and the two airlines.
Write to Yoree Koh at yoree.koh@wsj.com
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