Boeing expects to deliver 787 in China

Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines will be the first carriers in China to receive Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner, delivery of which to the world's fastest-growing aviation market has been delayed for years by various problems, a top Boeing executive said.

"Boeing expects to first deliver the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to China over the next few weeks," Marc Allen, the US plane maker's China division president, told an audience in Chengdu on Sunday.

The timing, however, depends on when China's Civil Aviation Administration certifies the 787. The regulator has issued no updates on its airworthiness-certification process. Wang Yingming, chairman of Hainan Airlines Co parent HNA Group, was recently quoted as telling the Chinese-language National Business Daily that the aircraft is expected to be approved for commercial operation in China sometime this month.

Boeing has promoted its newest jet, which can be configured to fly as many as 290 passengers up to 15,750 kilometers, as 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the 767 it's meant to replace. Although smaller than many existing wide-body jets, the 787 can fly longer distances, enabling more long-haul, nonstop service between China and cities in North America and Europe.

But lithium-ion batteries overheated and burned on two aircraft, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration in January to order all 787s in the United States grounded until the battery design was modified. The grounding, which the US rescinded in late April, delayed Chinese regulatory approval of the 787.

Aviation-safety authorities in Japan and the European Union followed with their own approvals of the battery modification, allowing for 787 flights in those jurisdictions.

Some experts told China Daily that the problems could impede Chinese certification of the Dreamliner.

"Boeing has to prove the safety of the aircraft before it flies in China," said Li Xiaojin, a professor at China Aviation University in Tianjin. The certification process, he said, will be slowed by the Civil Aviation Administration's inspection for any potential problems with the plane.

Liang Pubin, general manager of Hainan Airlines North America, said in an interview that the carrier plans to use the 10 Boeing 787s it has ordered to handle most of its service to and from the US and Canada. If the 787 isn't certified in time, Hainan will begin its Beijing-Chicago route on Sept 3 with Airbus A340-600 planes, Liang said.

That service, which augments Hainan's existing nonstop North America-Beijing routes (Seattle and Toronto), will involve one flight departing Beijing Capital International Airport at 12:35 pm local time and arriving in Chicago at 1:25 pm the same day. A second daily flight will depart Chicago at 3:25 pm and land in Beijing at 7:05 the following morning.

Hainan has been awaiting delivery of its first Dreamliner since 2010. For China Southern, the first 787 was to have been delivered last year.

The first Dreamliner was delivered to Japan's All Nippon Airways in 2011 after a three-year-and-a-half delay due to technical and other problems. The aircraft is Boeing's initial foray into outsourcing some production to suppliers around the world, although the 787 is built primarily at the company's factories in Washington state and South Carolina. Chicago-based Boeing is now producing the planes at the rate of seven a month.

Boeing has said China had firm orders for 35 Dreamliners -10 each from China Southern and Hainan, and 15 from Air China Ltd. In addition, Xiamen Airlines announced an order for six 787s, pending government approval.