Boeing Dreamliner Update: Raymond Conner, Head Of Boeing's Commercial Aircraft Division Issues Apology : News : TravelersToday

It took nearly a month, but Boeing has finally issued an apology for their Dreamliner and the massive migraine, not to mention, financial loss, they caused for Japan and their leading airline, All Nippon Airways.

Raymond Conner, head of the commercial aircraft division at Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), said the incidents that led to the grounding of the entire fleet of Dreamliner 787 planes were "deeply regretful," according to CNN.

On behalf of the Boeing Company and the 170,000 people which I represent today, I want first to apologize for the fact that we've had two incidents with our two very precious customers, ANA and JAL," he told reporters in Tokyo, reported CNN.

The grounding last month due to fires linked to the installed lithium-ion batteries has forced Japan's airlines to cancel hundreds of flights, costing millions in lost revenue. Boeing has warned customers of delays to deliveries, although it continues to make the plane.

The plane was too be the center-piece of ANA business strategy and if it remains out of service for an extended period of time, the damage to the airline could be significant. ANA has already stated it will seek compensation from Boeing.

Conner said Boeing had hundreds of engineers working with external experts on the battery technology to come up with a solution that addresses all the possible causes of the incidents that led to the grounding, stated CNN.

"What we did today was discuss the solutions that we are looking at that could be the final solution to get airplane back in air flying again," he said, according to CNN.

The continued issues with the Dreamliner and the Lithium-ion batteries have prompted Boeing's European rival Airbus to go back to standard nickel-cadmium batteries in its A350 plane, which is due to make its first test flight in the middle of this year and will compete with the Dreamliner, assuming it is still around.