Airlines Claim Compensation for Grounding of Boeing 787

Air India today became the second airline to say that it will receive compensation from Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) for the three-month grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Earlier this week, Qatar Airways said it would receive compensation from Boeing for the grounding of its planes. In all, 50 Dreamliners were in service at the time the grounding was ordered. Neither airline has specified a compensation amount.

Qatar Airways owns five of the planes and Air India owns six. Ethiopian Airways, which owns four Dreamliners, recommenced commercial flight of the aircraft last week. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, which combined own 24 Dreamliners, have estimated their losses due to the grounding at $110 million.

Boeing has found a fix for the battery problem that led to the grounding of all its 787s, but the company still does not know the cause. But that does not appear to be slowing down Boeing's marketing machine. The company yesterday began promoting a new version of its 777 twin-aisle, two-engine passenger/cargo plane.

The new version of the 777, called the 777X, is said to have a flight range of 9,500 nautical miles and would be the longest-range aircraft in the world. Boeing is talking with potential customers about requirements for several versions of the new models. The plane is Boeing's response to the latest large plane offering from Airbus, the A350-1000, which has a range of up to around 8,400 nautical miles.

Boeing's shares are up 0.2% in premarket trading this morning, at $92.38 in a 52-week range of $66.82 to $93.38.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Aerospace, Airlines, Regulation Tagged: BA, featured