March 29, 2024

All Nippon Says Grounding of 787s Has Cost About $15 Million

With a fleet of 17 Dreamliners, delivered in late 2011 ahead of any other airline, All Nippon is the world’s largest operator of Boeing’s new jet. But that fleet remains grounded as United States and Japanese investigators try to determine why a battery burst into flames and another spewed smoke last month on 787s operated by All Nippon and Japan Airlines.

All Nippon has scrambled to use replacement aircraft to operate its routes. But the airline has been forced to cancel about 450 domestic and international flights, affecting almost 60,000 customers.

The airline has said it expects disruptions to continue and is unsure when they will end.

The airline said on Thursday that the 787 grounding had caused an estimated $15.4 million in lost revenue so far, a disappointing reversal after the airline trumpeted the big savings brought about by the fuel-efficient jets. For now, All Nippon kept its profit forecast for the year through March unchanged at about $44 million, though it remains unclear how big an effect the Dreamliner woes will have on the airline’s future earnings and strategy.

Seven operators grounded their 787 fleets on Jan. 16 after regulators around the world followed those in the United States and Japan in ordering the suspension of all flights until the battery problems could be resolved. Earlier that day, a 787 operated by All Nippon made an emergency landing in western Japan after pilots noticed a battery error signal and a strange smell in the cabin.

Just 10 days earlier, a similar battery burst into flames aboard a parked 787 operated by Japan Airlines at Boston’s Logan Airport. The lithium-ion batteries have been recovered from both planes and are now being scrutinized by American and Japanese investigators.

All Nippon has since said that it replaced batteries and chargers in its Dreamliners 10 times before the emergency landing, and Japan Airlines said it had done so several times.

United States investigators are now asking for more data on the devices’ past performance.

All Nippon has not asked Boeing for compensation linked to the grounded 787s but will discuss the issue once the total financial effect is more clear, said the executive vice president, Kiyoshi Tonomoto, according to Reuters.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/business/global/01iht-ana01.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Boeing 787 Battery Was Not Overcharged, Japanese Investigators Say

Regulators around the world have grounded the advanced 787, called the Dreamliner, after a battery malfunction and smoke caused pilots aboard an All Nippon Airways flight to make an emergency landing last week, and a similar battery aboard a parked 787 operated by Japan Airlines ignited at Logan Airport in Boston on Jan. 7.

Japanese investigators who retrieved the charred and disfigured battery pack from the All Nippon plane initially suspected overcharging, a dangerous condition where a battery is charged beyond its electrical capacity and becomes susceptible to overheating and fire. Experts in lithium-ion batteries — the type under investigation on the Dreamliner — have suggested that the batteries may have been charged too quickly, pointing to charging issues rather than problems with the batteries themselves.

But data retrieved from the All Nippon jet suggested that the battery had not been charged beyond its maximum design voltage, 32 volts, Norihiro Goto, chairman of the Japanese Transport Safety Board, told reporters Wednesday. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced similar findings Sunday from its investigation into the lithium-ion battery that caught fire in Boston.

Mr. Goto said that readings aboard the All Nippon flight showed the battery’s voltage stayed relatively stable at 31 volts, just under the maximum voltage, until pilots detected a strange smell in the cockpit about 15 minutes after takeoff. The data showed a sudden, unexplained drop in the battery’s voltage after that, Mr. Goto said.

“There is no direct evidence of overcharging,” Mr. Goto said, though he stressed it was too early to reach a firm conclusion, given the complexity of the electrical systems aboard the 787. “There is a possibility that something went wrong within the battery itself.”

The damaged battery is now being inspected by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, which will take CT scans to examine its interior.

The authorities will then send the battery to its Japanese manufacturer, GS Yuasa, which will help investigators take the unit apart for further scrutiny, Mr. Goto said.

The unit that overheated aboard the All Nippon Dreamliner was the jet’s main battery, while the fire on the Japan Airlines jet was blamed on its auxiliary battery. Both batteries have similar structures and are made by GS Yuasa, which has pioneered the development of large lithium-ion batteries for use in trains and planes. Smaller lithium-ion batteries are used widely in cellphones and laptops.

GS Yuasa has said it is cooperating fully with investigators from both the United States and Japan.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/business/global/boeing-787-battery-was-not-overcharged-japanese-investigators-say.html?partner=rss&emc=rss