TOKYO--Japan's transport minister said Friday that Boeing Co.
(BA) didn't present a timetable for the resumption of 787
Dreamliner operations during a meeting Thursday.
"There was no comment (from Boeing) on the likely resumption or
the schedule," Transport Minister Akihiro Ohta said at a press
conference.
The comment came a day after Raymond Conner, head of Boeing's
commercial airplane unit, met the minister to reassure Japanese
regulators that a set of fixes it proposed for its Dreamliner jets
would address the safety troubles that have grounded the
planes.
The proposals provide three layers of protection--steps to
prevent each cell in the battery from overheating, those to keep
the heat from spreading from one cell to another if overheating
occurs, and those to prevent the whole battery from catching fire
if the heat spreads, the minister said.
On Thursday, the ministry declined to comment on the details of
the proposed enhancements.
The measures presented to the ministry are a "proposal," and
efforts to get the Dreamliner back in the air represent a
"starting" point, he said.
It will likely "take some time" to examine and approve the
proposal, while still working to understand the root cause of the
incidents, the minister said.
Battery problems on two Boeing 787 Dreamliners, one each
operated by Japan Airlines Co. (9201.TO) and All Nippon Airways Co.
(9202.TO) in January led to the global grounding of the high-tech
jet.
Write to Yoshio Takahashi at yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com
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