Norwegian Air Shuttle Grounds Faulty Dreamliner 787

Norwegian Air Shuttle grounded one of its new Boeing Dreamliner 787s out of service after it suffered repeated breakdowns. The carrier demanded that Boeing repair the plane.

The company elected to lease an Airbus A340 from HiFly to keep its long-haul business going. Meanwhile, Boeing responded to the repair issue, saying it would take “a matter of days” to fix the issues.

A spokesman for the Norwegian budget airline told Reuters, “The aircraft’s reliability is simply not acceptable, our passengers cannot live with this kind of performance.” The spokesman, Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen, added, “We are taking it out of long-haul service.”

The Dreamliner was meant to be a game-changer for the aviation industry, especially for long-haul flights. However, there have been several delays getting the aircraft into service. Other setbacks included the grounding of all Dreamliners earlier this year due to battery problems.

ABC News notes that the 787 is the world’s first commercial plane made with mostly composite materials. Because of this, the plane is lighter and needs less fuel to go a long distance.

Boeing explained that it responded to Norwegian Air Shuttle’s complaints, saying, that it will “implement a number of enhancements to improve the airplane’s in-service reliability.” A statement from the airplane builder added, “We are working tirelessly to provide support to Norwegian. We regret the inconvenience and disruption caused to the airline and its passengers as a result of this process.”

Along with production delays, Dreamliners were grounded worldwide in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated or caught fire. Flights on the 787 resumed four months later, after successful test flights. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines grounded their Boeing 787s temporarily in August for unrelated battery defects.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ordered eight 787s from Boeing and has received two so far. While the airline grounded one, its statement made no mention of issues with the other Dreamliner.

[Image by José A. Montes via Wikimedia Commons]