Boeing begins building stretch Dreamliner

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Boeing begins building stretch Dreamliner

Boeing has begun building the 787-9, a stretched version of the current Dreamliner (above) that will carry 40 more passengers. Air New Zealand is the first customer.

Boeing has begun building the 787-9, a stretched version of the current Dreamliner (above) that will carry 40 more passengers. Air New Zealand is the first customer.

Boeing announced Sunday it has started building its 787-9, a longer version of its 787 Dreamliner, looking to leave the jet's problems behind.

"The newest member of the 787 family began taking shape on schedule May 30 in Everett, Washington, when Boeing started joining large sections of the super-efficient jet," the aircraft giant said in a statement.

The 787-9 can carry 250 to 290 passengers - 40 more than the 787-8, which started operating in September 2011 - across an additional 300 nautical miles (555 kilometres) while using 20 per cent less fuel than airplanes of the same size.

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It should be making a first flight within months, and an initial delivery in early 2014 to Air New Zealand.

"From the start, the entire 787-9 team has focused relentlessly on execution so that we fulfill the commitments to our customers," said Mark Jenks, vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes' 787 program.

"Integrating the 787-9 into our production system on time is another clear sign that we are well-prepared and well-positioned for the work ahead."

Twenty customers around the world have ordered 355 787-9s, making up 40 per cent of all 787 orders, the company said.

Boeing is keen to show clients that it can keep deliveries on schedule after the Dreamliner came into service more than three years late.

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Regulators grounded the 787 after a battery fire on one aircraft parked at a US airport and a smouldering battery on another caused smoke and fumes, forcing an emergency landing.

In April, US officials cleared the plane to fly following alterations to its lithium-ion batteries.

The first Dreamliner resumed flights later that month and since then, more than half of all of the aircraft have been put back into service.

But Japan Airlines found a fault with a modified Dreamliner on Sunday, reports said, a day after it resumed full operation of the 787 fleet.

JAL was forced to use another aircraft for a flight scheduled from Tokyo to Beijing after it found a fault with an air pressure sensor in the Dreamliner's battery container, Kyodo News and Jiji Press said.

The incident comes only a day after JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA), the single biggest operator of 787s, put their full fleet of Dreamliners back into service following a four-month suspension due to battery problems.

ANA had started using Dreamliner planes for irregular flights last month.

JAL said the pressure sensor of the battery container in the plane showed a difference in air pressure between inside and outside during a safety check before departure, according to the media reports.

The airline added that there was no abnormality found in the battery itself, the reports said.

The difference in air pressure was put down to Boeing Co.'s faulty maintenance as two small holes on the container -- necessary for air ventilation to prevent overheating -- were mistakenly sealed when it repaired the battery system, Kyodo said citing JAL.

The airline changed the scheduled flight's aircraft to a Boeing 767 and departure was delayed by an hour, Kyodo said.

AFP

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