787 battery fix achieves world-wide regulatory approvals

Several months of exhaustive work by hundreds of people both inside and outside The Boeing Company culminated Monday, April 29th, 2013, when all global regulatory agencies approved Boeing’s 787 battery improvements. They follow the decision published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday, April 26th.  This means that regulators in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East agree that the 787 battery system changes and validation of those changes meet safety requirements and that airlines around the world can now resume 787 flights.

Passengers who will ride aboard the 787 fleet in the coming months and years should know that while the 787 battery improvements are the result of hundreds of thousands of hours of work, the airplane itself went though the most exhaustive certification process in history.

Safety is the foundation for everything we do.
The 787 was built on the foundation of safety – to date, more than 1 million passengers have already traveled on the Dreamliner and more than 18,000 flights have safely taken place. Our robust, innovative 787 technology makes it possible to navigate, monitor the weather, check the conditions at airports and track the health of the airplane.

We continuously improve our airplanes.
When we learn something new – whether from testing or in-service lessons – we incorporate what we learn to make our airplanes better. These lessons ultimately help us make airplanes even safer and more reliable.

Click here to learn more about the three layers of protection designed into the new battery system.

This is the most tested commercial airplane ever built.
More than 10,000 hours of testing were conducted on the 787, including 5,000 hours of flight testing and 5,000 hours of test time on the ground. From wind tunnel and stress tests to extreme flying and cold weather testing, this airplane was put through its paces.

Why do passengers love this airplane?
We wanted to build an airplane that focused on the passenger. And we did. The 787 passenger features include:
  •     Large, dimmable windows – every seat is a window seat.
  •     A smoother, quieter ride.
  •     Soft LED lighting, balanced for work or rest.
  •     Large, easily accessible stowage bins.
  •     Lower cabin altitude and cleaner air, meaning passengers arrive more refreshed.
  •     Environmentally responsible – the most fuel efficient commercial jet airplane ever.