787 update

The US Federal Aviation Administration has instructed airlines to remove or inspect emergency beacons in Boeing 787 Dreamliners, following the fire earlier this month on an Ethiopian Airlines’ aircraft at Heathrow that was traced to one of the Honeywell units.

The agency is now aligned with Boeing, which advised airlines last week to inspect or remove the device, known as an emergency locator transmitter or ELT.

To date 68 Dreamliners have been delivered out of a total order book for 930.  British Airways is likely to be the next airline to put the plane into service, initially on European routes that are convenient for in-flight introduction and training.

The fire has set up the first test of a major repair of the aircraft, which industry experts say airlines will be watching closely to determine both cost and out of service time.  If as expected BA carries out the work, it will be a real bonus for the airline both financially and in terms of engineering experience.

Last Wednesday Boeing revealed better than expected second quarter earnings which have resulted in its shares standing at an all-time high. www.boeing.com/commerical

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