The Boeing 787 could be flying again within a week!
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it would send airlines instructions and publish a notice next week lifting the 3-month-old grounding order that day. Boeing will then have the go-ahead to begin retrofitting planes with an enhanced lithium ion battery system.
Dreamliner flights could resume within a week, the agency told members of Congress. Boeing said it has stationed teams around the world to begin installing the fix.
November’s Star MegaDO was a frequent flyer trip which chartered United’s first 787. Frequent flyers got to experience it in a fantastic party atmosphere, and it was covered by the Economist, by the New York Times, by the Wall Street Journal and by… the Wall Street Journal.
My own personal interest is that ABC’s Nightline came along on the trip, and also did some extensive interviews of me. But the plane was grounded before the piece aired, and that really took the wind out of the sails of running it — I don’t think they could run a piece on frequent flyers playing in a new, cool plane that the FAA said wasn’t permitted to fly! The longer these pieces sit the less likely they ever see the light of day (though the producer on the piece told me it was his favorite of the year, and also sent a crew out to December’s Frequent Traveler University to get more footage).
But it would be nice, purely personally, if the 787 taking flight also meant an airing of that piece. And if The Colbert Report would only air the segment that I shot with them….
Are you excited to see the 787 returning to the skies? Will you fly it?
Can’t run away from that plane especially after the “construction” of the new fire spoof box and the venting of smoke to the outside………I have to believe it is safer than the older planes in the air……..but if you look at how long it has been since a US carrier had an accident it is a pretty safe track record………
Gary, would love to see the Colbert piece. I’m glad I got to do my nation-wide Dreamliner Tour in December.
Yes! I would absolutely fly it. I’m an aeronautical engineer, and I have absolute faith in the fixes they have put forward!!
i can’t imagine they would run the piece at this point.
Fabulous plane. Flew JAL two legs US East Coast to SE Asia in Y and it was such a difference in comfort, noise level, smoothness of ride and air quality compared to any other plane in the air. This is my long haul aircraft of choice. Only flew A380 for a short hop so far, so I can’t compare these two planes with each other yet. Dreamliner quite a bit smaller though.
Would love to fly it in the NH config – have absolutely zero desire to fly the UA version, both for the more cramped interior (relative to the 777) as well as them totally destroying the “wow” factor
Booked for June 11 – DEN/NRT. I can’t wait!
Also booked to fly on one for May 23rd. I really hope they’re back in service by then!
They still could not determine the cause of the fire!
YES!This means ANA’s SEA-NRT is coming back and will see me flying with them again this year