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Just days after Boeing's 787 Dreamliner was officially cleared to fly by U.S. regulators, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said the plane's 100-day grounding did not and will not have a significant financial impact on the Chicago-based aircraft maker. McNerney, speaking after Chicago-based Boeing's annual meeting at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago on Monday, said some fixes are "big and huge and others are less financially impactful."

"Attention ladies and gentlemen, the Boeing 787Dreamliner will depart shortly – any potential fires caused by our lithium ion batteries will now be contained within the aircraft. Please line up at the gate for imminent boarding!” Are you ready? In case you missed it the Federal Aviation Administration, by publishing an Airworthiness Directive in the Federal Register last week, opened the door for the troubled “green” aircraft to return to service in the coming months. The document lays out the specifications required for Boeing to get the extremely costly project moving again, if the changes are implemented and FAA inspectors...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Friday that it has formally approved Boeing’s design for modifications to the 787 Dreamliner battery system, clearing the way to end the plane’s three-month grounding. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency hasn’t changed the Dreamliner’s ETOPS (“extended operations”) certification, which means the 787 will have continued approval to fly up to three hours away from the nearest airport. Michael Huerta, head of the FAA, told a Senate hearing Tuesday that ETOPS approval was under review. The decision not to reduce the three-hour limit is crucial to the jet’s use for flying long routes...

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Boeing is expanding in South Carolina and will invest another $1 billion, creating 2,000 new jobs during the next eight years, the aerospace giant announced Tuesday. Company spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said the company, which operates a 787 assembly plant in North Charleston, will expand its operations. The first of the new 787s made in South Carolina rolled off the assembly line about a year ago.

Boeing said its flight of a 787 on Friday should wrap up the testing for its fix of the battery problems that have kept the plane grounded. Boeing called the flight "the final certification test for the new battery system." The next step will be for the Federal Aviation Administration to decide whether Boeing's battery fix is good enough for airlines to safely fly it again. Friday's flight took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. It returned one hour and 49 minutes later. The test was "to demonstrate that the new system performs as...

Boston airport firefighters encountered sizzling liquid and a hissing, “exploding” battery when they entered the 787 at the center of a two-month-long National Transportation Safety Board investigation, according to documents released Thursday. The NTSB said Thursday it plans two public hearings next month, one to explore lithium-ion battery technology in general and another to discuss the design and certification of the Boeing 787 battery system. The safety agency announced the hearings as it released an interim factual report and 499 pages of related documents on its investigation of the Japan Airlines 787 fire at the Boston airport on January 7....

A short circuit inside one cell started the 787 battery fire, and assumptions used to certify the battery system proved wrong, the NTSB said Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has pinpointed the start of the 787 Dreamliner battery fire on a parked Japan Airlines jet a month ago today as a short circuit inside a single cell. The agency still hasn’t identified the cause of the initial short circuit but has narrowed down the suspects. Details provided by the NTSB make clear that Boeing will have to redesign the battery for a long-term fix. In addition, the NTSB pointed...

With the revelation that All Nippon Airways replaced defectivelithium ion batteries 10 times,Japan Air Lines replaced“quite a few,” andUnited Airlines replaced “multiple batteries,” in the months preceding the smoke emergency that grounded their Dreamliners, is there anything that can be said about the technology that can overcome its now-horrible reputation? Boeing has worked on the 787 for 10 years or so, with an ample amount of time to determine what kind of battery technology would be functional with the“super-efficient” jet with “exceptional environmental performance.” Had the Chicago-based manufacturer –and its airline customers – concerned themselves more with achievable plans that...

The crisis that has enveloped Boeing over the grounded Dreamliner, at a cost of billions of dollars in losses in addition to what has already been “invested” in it -- voluntarily by its owner/investors and coercively from taxpayers – exemplifies perhaps more than any other redistributionist corporatism scheme why government intervention is more headache than help. Pass the industrial-strength Excedrin. Of immediate concern to the Chicago-based jet-manufacturer is the lithium-ion battery that powers so many of the 787’s critical functions. Two instances of “thermal runaway” on Dreamliners’ owned by Japan-based airlines caused that country, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration,to...

Nobody is allowed to fly them. But Boeing can't stop churning them out. A federal probe into electrical fires has grounded all 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners around the world. But Boeing has little choice but to keep its assembly lines in South Carolina and Washington State running at their normal pace, building five jets a month. A significant slowdown in production, let alone a full shutdown, would be too costly for both Boeing and its suppliers who are counting on making parts for the aircraft.

When Federal Aviation Administration officials grounded Boeing's fleet of 787 Dreamliner commercial jets last week due to unexplained battery fires, one of President Obama's favorite green energy technologies got another black eye. Technologists and safety experts had long warned of problems with the lithium ion battery when in 2009 the president began betting billions of tax dollars that it should be the green power of choice for cars, trucks, and even aircraft.

Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as Europe, Japan and India joined the United States in grounding Boeing's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated. The lightweight, mainly carbon-composite plane has been plagued by recent mishaps - including an emergency landing of a Japanese domestic flight on Wednesday after warning lights indicated a battery problem - raising concerns over its use of new technology, such as lithium-ion batteries. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday temporarily grounded Boeing's newest commercial airliner, saying carriers would have to demonstrate the batteries were safe before the planes could resume...

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it is requiring airlines to temporarily stop flying Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday ordered U.S. airlines to temporarily stop flying Boeing's 787 Dreamliner following a series of mishaps. The agency said the decision to ground Boeing 787s was prompted by a second incident involving lithium ion battery failure. Earlier Wednesday, Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing.

The Federal Aviation Administration this morning announced a comprehensive review of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner -- including the company’s plant in North Charleston -- in light of a series of recent incidents. The review will focus on the technologically advanced jet’s extensive electric system but will not be limited to any one aspect of the program or any one of the recent glitches, according to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. Despite his agency’s decision to undertake an open-ended look at Boeing’s prize jet program, Huerta emphasized that the 787 is safe to fly. “Nothing we have seen would indicate that this airplane...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal safety investigators intensified their scrutiny of a Monday fire aboard a Boeing 787 as concerned investors sold shares in the aircraft maker for a second day. Boeing on Tuesday confirmed that the fire aboard a Japan Airlines plane appeared to have started in a battery pack for the plane’s auxiliary power unit. The National Transportation Safety Board described the fire damage to the battery as ‘‘severe,’’ and said it is sending two more investigators to examine the Japan Airlines plane. It also formed investigative groups to look at the plane’s electrical systems as well as the...

The Dreamliner, with passengers, has finally landed. United Airlines landed its inaugural domestic flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft Sunday morning at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, becoming the first U.S. carrier to fly the composite-plastic-fuselage aircraft. The twin-aisle plane, delayed more than three years by production problems at Boeing Co., was designed to be about 20% more fuel efficient and less costly to maintain than similar-size planes. Half the plane is made of strong and light composite materials, including the fuselage and wings, instead of metal. …

The engine installed on every Boeing 787 built in South Carolina so far has a problem. The first sign something was wrong came on a Saturday afternoon in July when the second locally made Dreamliner experienced a pre-flight engine failure as it accelerated down the runway at Charleston International Airport. A month and a half later, the extent of the defect has become clearer — and bigger. The North Charleston incident was not isolated, as had been the original hope. Instead, two other General Electric-made GEnx engines have been found to suffer from a similar defect in the drive shaft....

A Boeing 787 jet took corporate loyalty to new heights when it "drew" the letters "787" followed by the company's logo across several thousand miles of North American skies. The etching of the letters and logo, while not visible from the ground, can be seen in the flight path plans.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai's fast-growing airline Emirates kicked off the Middle East's biggest airshow Sunday with a huge order for 50 Boeing 777s, marking the U.S. aircraft maker's biggest-ever single order in dollar terms.

After a delay of more than three years, Boeing's much-hyped newest jet, the 787, made its first commercial flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong -- and landed on-time. The All Nippon Airways flight was packed mostly with aviation reporters and enthusiasts, some of whom paid thousands of dollars for the privilege and treated the experience like a rock concert, clapping after lift-off and snapping photos for posterity.

As Japan welcomes the first Boeing 787, the world's largest carrier is patiently and anxiously waiting for its order. Jeff Smisek, head of the parent company for United and Continental airlines, on Thursday said he was last told by Boeing that the first of the 50 aircraft ordered by the company will be delivered to have in service in the second half of 2012. "We ordered that aircraft in December 2004. So I've been a very patient person," said Smisek, the president and CEO of United Continental Holdings Inc.

<p>After years of setbacks and delays, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was certified Friday by the U.S. government as safe and ready to fly passengers.</p> <p>The official FAA certification was announced at a ceremony at the Boeing site in Everett, just a few weeks before the first scheduled delivery of the airliner to Japan's All Nippon Airways on Sept. 28. The aircraft was also certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency.</p>

OSHKOSH, Wis. Advertisement — A Boeing 787 Dreamliner decked out like a flying laboratory received a rousing welcome at its U.S. public debut Friday. The reception by thousands of aviation enthusiasts at the AirVenture air show rivaled the anticipation of airlines that are lined up to buy the first-of-its-kind jetliner. The Dreamliner promises to expand on the economy of jumbo jets, but in a smaller, 250-seat plane. The improvements will allow carriers to operate the 787 profitably on longer nonstop routes, such as Los Angeles to New Delhi, Boeing officials said. More than 50 airlines worldwide have placed orders for...

House Republicans are fighting back against President Obama’s misuse of administrative power to punish right-to-work states. On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Scott introduced legislation to protect a Boeing 787 Dreamliner production plant in his South Carolina district from the outrageous complaint filed by pro-union thugs at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The agency wants to force the airline manufacturer to close up operations in Charleston and move the jobs to Puget Sound, where the labor bosses reign, because setting up in South Carolina was allegedly an example of “unfair labor practices.” The Job Protection Act would, if enacted, clarify that...

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) decision to issue a complaint regarding the Boeing facility in South Carolina is a poorly veiled act of revenge against a company that refused to let Big Labor bosses decide its future. As seemingly ridiculous and unbelievable as the attack on the part of the U.S. Government against an American corporation seeking to create jobs at home is, the consequences that this precedent sets for businesses and their right to work is downright dangerous. The case in question came up when, Boeing, after negotiations with their union in Washington State broke down, decided to...

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. --- This summer, the huge Boeing assembly plant here will begin producing 787 Dreamliners — up to three a month, priced at $185 million apiece. It will, unless the National Labor Relations Board, controlled by Democrats and encouraged by Barack Obama’s reverberating silence, gets its way. Last month — 17 months after Boeing announced plans to build here and with the $2 billion plant nearing completion — the NLRB, collaborating with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), charged that Boeing’s decision violated the rights of its unionized workers in Washington state, where some Dreamliners are assembled...

The Senate’s top Democrat on Wednesday harshly condemned what he said were “inappropriate” attempts by Republican lawmakers to intervene in a controversial labor dispute now before the National Labor Relations Board. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said the GOP moves were an attempt to “poison the decision-making process” in the increasingly bitter dispute over plans by aerospace giant Boeing Co. to open a major new, nonunion manufacturing plant for its premier 787 Dreamliner fleet in South Carolina. The NLRB, in a move that has outraged leading business groups and South Carolina officials, has issued a complaint about the...

Business leaders and Republican politicians accused President Barack Obama on Tuesday of punishing GOP states by trying to block Boeing from opening a major aircraft plant in South Carolina. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the National Labor Relations Board’s move to compel Boeing to build a second 787 Dreamliner factory at its hub in Everett, Wash., should alarm all governors and state leaders. The NLRB’s top lawyer, Lafe Solomon, filed a case in April charging Boeing with union- busting and retaliating for past strikes at its Puget Sound facilities in deciding to locate the Dreamliner assembly line in South...

Washington (CNN) – South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and a group of Republican senators demanded Tuesday that the Obama administration weigh in on the National Labor Relations Board's complaint against Boeing, saying the complaint could jeopardize thousands of South Carolina jobs and the future of free enterprise in the country. The NLRB's complaint alleges that Boeing decided to build a new 787 Dreamliner plant in South Carolina, a so-called "right-to-work" state, in retaliation against union workers in Washington state who had engaged in past strikes. The NRLB's Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon is seeking an order to keep that production...

Boeing illegally put its second 787 Dreamliner assembly line in South Carolina in retaliation for strikes in Washington and should be required to build the line in Washington, according to a National Labor Relations Board complaint filed Wednesday. The board's acting general counsel filed the complaint in response to a charge that the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union District 751, backed by the national union, filed on March 29, 2010. A board administrative law judge is scheduled to hear the case on June 14. The complaint says Boeing executives "made coercive statements to its employees that it...

Boeing Co.’s newest 747 passenger jet, the largest commercial plane it has ever built, took to the skies for the first time Sunday, marking the third maiden flight of a new Boeing commercial airplane in the past 15 months. (See video) Painted in its orange and red “sunrise” livery, the massive, four-engine 747-8 Intercontinental lifted off from Paine Field, north of Seattle, at 10 a.m. local time under partly cloudy skies and gusty northerly winds. At 250 feet long, the 747-8 is 18 feet longer than its predecessor.

Inside: - How the 787 backlog was built - Predicable costs at 787's foundation - Scott Carson's ascent - Can the 787-9 undo the damage? - Looking at 17 787's per month - The revival of the 787-10 - Redrawing the supply chain lines Data obtained by FlightBlogger show Boeing's historic order backlog for the 787 was based partly on steep discounts driven by now-discarded design and manufacturing assumptions. Cost overruns, penalty payments and supply chain changes adopted in the last two years will force Boeing to achieve unprecedented cost-savings for the widebody to turn a profit even after delivering...

Even as Boeing continues to struggle with the 787-8 program, future planning calls for resurrecting plans for the 787-10 that have been on indefinite hold while working through technical issues and delays of the current model. Airbus has sold more A330s since the 787 program was announced than in the period leading up to the 787's launch. The A330-200 has been improved to now have an advertised 7,200nm range-nearly matching the low-end of the 787-8, according to Airbus estimates-and the A330-300 now has a 5,850nm range with more improvements planned to provide a few hundred miles more range. Nicole Piasecki,...

Qatar Airways may cancel Dreamliner order, warns CEO Carrier may have ‘no alternative’ but to cancel orders if there are fresh delays, says Al Baker By Ed Attwood Sunday, 19 December 2010 Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has said he may have no alternative but to cancel orders for the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner if there are further delays in its delivery. The fast-growing airline has ordered 30 787s, plus 30 more as an option, although technical and labour problems with the ultra-modern part-composite aircraft has left the jet nearly three years behind its original schedule. “We are still...

As Boeing prepares to announce yet another delay for the 787 Dreamliner — at least three months, possibly six or more — the crucial jet program is in even worse shape than it appears. The problems go well beyond the latest setback, an in-flight electrical fire last month that has grounded the test planes.

A serious in-flight fire in the electric equipment bay of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight test plane forced an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas, Tuesday. All aboard were safely evacuated on slides. The fire affected the cockpit controls and the jet lost its primary flight displays and its auto-throttle, according to a person familiar with the incident. The flight and engine controls, which on the Dreamliner are all-electric, weren't fully functional, this person said. A small emergency power generator called the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) that typically kicks in only when both primary and auxiliary power sources are lost was...

The wing of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner passed its ultimate test Sunday, bending without damage to 150 percent of the load it is ever expected to experience in service.

In 2002, Boeing executives opted for efficiency over speed in ditching the Sonic Cruiser for what became the 787 Dreamliner. So the flight-tracking Web site FlightAware provided a bit of a jolt Thursday when it reported the first 787 going supersonic above Washington.

EVERETT, Wash.—Boeing Co.'s long-delayed 787 Dreamliner made its first flight on Tuesday morning under cold, cloudy skies, marking a milestone for the company's marquee commercial jetliner program that is running more than two years behind schedule. The first Dreamliner test aircraft rolled down runway 34 Left at Paine Field at 10:28 a.m. and smoothly lifted off, heading northbound. Thousands of people, including hundreds of Boeing employees, plane enthusiasts and media, gathered at the airfield, which is also the site of Boeing's wide-body jet factory, where the Dreamliners are assembled.

Boeing's busy day on the ground kicked off at 6:30 AM with a flight readiness review that finalized receipt of the Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA. This regulatory clearance now puts the 787, with clearance to operate Part 91 operations, the same regulatory category as aircraft like the Cessna 172. Once the Experimental Airworthiness Certificate had been obtained, the aircraft was cleared for final taxi tests.

Dow Jones)--Boeing Co. on Wednesday announced it would build a second final assembly line for its troubled 787 Dreamliner jet in South Carolina, a move that spurns the powerful aircraft machinists' union that had been negotiating with Boeing to locate the work at the current factory near Seattle. Boeing has been laying the groundwork for a new factory in South Carolina for months and could begin construction at a facility it owns in North Charleston, S.C., as early as Nov. 2. The factory is expected to be operational by July 2011.

After two years of costly and embarrassing delays, the first flight of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is on track for the end of June. When the 787 does lift off, Boeing officials hope it takes the company's stock with it. > “They've still got credibility issues, and there's an awful lot of people with a wait-and-see attitude,” Aboulafia said, adding that key airline customers remain dubious about the 787s weight and performance on the first six airplanes under production. “There are good reasons to be cautious about the 787,'' Aboulafia said. “The problem was they've been overly optimistic in their...

WICHITA, Kan. — Almost a year ago in Everett, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner No. 1 rolled out with an impressive exterior but completely empty inside. At the sprawling Spirit AeroSystems plant here Thursday, the cockpit door inside the 42-foot-long front section of Dreamliner No. 4 opened to reveal a finished flight deck. Though it's only the front of the plane, it seemed almost ready for takeoff.

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Boeing Co. faces further delays in the delivery of its B787 Dreamliner because it is unlikely to get clearance from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on time, German weekly Focus reported, citing sources at the FAA. The so-called 'Type Certification' will not be granted before the end of 2009, possibly early 2010, and not in the third quarter of 2009 as initially projected, delaying delivery to the first customer All Nippon Airways. Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) plans to publish the new schedule next month, the magazine said in an excerpt of an...

The largest customer for Boeing's 787 is predicting another six-month slip in deliveries and has for the first time raised the specter that the new passenger jet's troubles extend beyond production delays to design problems. International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told a JPMorgan investor conference that structural design changes have to be made to the 787's center wing box, a move that would require retrofits of the first two flight-test airplanes that are being produced. Calling the state of the program "not pretty," Udvar-Hazy said he doesn't see the 787 making its first flight until this fall...

MUMBAI: US aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Wednesday said it would compensate Air India for the delay in the delivery of Dreamliner 787 aircraft to the Indian carrier. "We will compensate Air India for the delay in the delivery of Dreamliners," Boeing Senior Vice-President Dinesh Keskar told reporters on the sidelines of an aviation summit. In 2005, the national carrier had placed orders with Boeing for 68 aircraft costing $11.6 billion. Of the 68 aircraft, 27 are Dreamliners. The first Dreamliner was scheduled to be delivered by end-this year, but the deliveries are now expected to be delayed. "There have been...

British Airways has placed a massive order of 790 planes for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner which is yet to be launched. This is a move that should exalt the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, and place it well beyond its European competitor, Airbus. Boeing hopes to test the 787 Dreamliner before March next year and expects to start delivering planes in December, the same year. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized, wide-body, twin engine jet airliner currently in production by Boeing Commercial Airplanes and scheduled to enter service in November 2008. It will carry between 210 and 330 passengers depending...

Has the 787 flown yet, does anyone know?

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Boeing Co. said Wednesday it would delay first deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner by six months after running into assembly problems, confirming recent speculation that its ultratight testing phase would make scheduled deliveries impossible.

The Boeing Co. is delaying initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner by six months due to continued challenges in completing assembly of the first airplanes, the company said Wednesday. Boeing said deliveries that had been scheduled to begin next May will be pushed back to late November or December 2008. The first flight, already pushed back once from the initial target of earlier this fall, now is anticipated around the end of the first quarter of 2008.