TOKYO--Japan's transport ministry remained mum Tuesday on how
soon Boeing Co.'s (BA) 787 Dreamliner can return to service, even
after the aircraft maker finished testing Friday to address battery
problems that have grounded the plane.
Japanese regulators received a report of the completed testing
from Boeing Tuesday, after it was presented to their U.S.
counterparts, the Federal Aviation Administration.
Shigeru Takano, a director with the air transport safety unit of
the ministry's Civil Aviation Bureau, said at a briefing that
regulators weren't prepared to give an estimate of when the
Dreamliner could take flight again, as they had yet to read the
whole report.
Under a best-case scenario, Boeing hopes to get a favorable
decision from the FAA by mid-April. It then anticipates several
weeks of work assisting the eight airlines with 787s to install and
check the redesigned batteries and their new containment systems.
If all goes well, world-wide 787 services could resume by early
June, according to people involved in the process.
Japan's air safety unit will examine Boeing's report in
cooperation with the FAA to decide whether the testing was
sufficient to ensure the aircraft's safety. It will address any
questions that arise from the report to the aircraft maker, Mr.
Takano said.
Regulators in Japan and other countries are likely to follow the
FAA's lead in approving the Dreamliner's return to commercial
service.
Battery problems on two Boeing 787 Dreamliners each operated by
two Japanese carriers--All Nippon Airways Co. (9202.TO) and Japan
Airlines Co. (9201.TO)--led to the global grounding of the
high-tech jet in mid-January. Combined, ANA and JAL own nearly half
of the total grounded Dreamliners.
Write to Yoshio Takahashi at yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com
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