Another carrier grounds Boeing 787; will lease Airbus A340

  • Associated Press
  • Saturday, September 28, 2013 12:17pm
  • Business

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norwegian Air Shuttle on Saturday became the latest airline to ground a Boeing 787 Dreamliner so that officials from the American company can examine what appears to be a technical problem.

Norwegian spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen said Saturday the plane “has not been reliable enough and passengers have been subjected to too many delays.” He declined to identify the technical glitches encountered.

In the meantime, the Scandinavian low-cost carrier will lease an Airbus A340 to fly on its two new long-haul destinations between Stockholm, Sweden, and New York and Bangkok.

Norwegian Air Shuttle has ordered eight Dreamliners and received two.

The grounding follows other recent reports of technical problems involving 787s flown by Norwegian Air and LOT of Poland.

The Dreamliner is the world’s first commercial plane made mostly of lighter-weight carbon-fiber composite materials. Boeing says the plane cuts fuel consumption by 20 percent and lowers operating costs by 30 percent.

The aircraft has been plagued by problems. The jets were grounded worldwide in January because lithium-ion batteries overheated or caught fire. Flights resumed three months later after a revamped battery system was installed.

And there have been numerous other technical problems that have disrupted flights by planes in service.

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