Air India is planning to replace certain components and upgrade the software of its Boeing Dreamliner fleet, in a move to resolve the glitches the aircraft have been facing recently.
As part of the plan, the airline will ground all its ten Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in phases from December.
The Dreamliners have been facing several problems since the variant was launched two years ago, including overheating batteries that led to grounding of the entire global fleet in January; the operations resumed in April.
Other issues include a crack in the windshield, and a body panel of an Air India-operated 787 falling off.
However, Boeing and Air India said that incidents with Dreamliners did not present a safety risk to travellers.
Boeing has outlined certain service bulletins that will be implemented by the airline, The Times of India reported citing a source close to the development.
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By GlobalData"This is not mandatory," said the source. "The airline is doing it on its own to increase reliability of the aircraft."
The first of the carrier Dreamliner jets will be grounded by the end of this month, and the next aircraft will fly only when the first one is ready to fly, the source added
Despite the technical gliches, Air India is planning to operate the Dreamliners on more than 40% of its international operations by March next year.
The carrier currently operates nearly one-fourth of its 335 weekly international services on the Dreamliner aircraft, which will go up to 350 by March 2014.
Image: Air India will ground all its ten Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in phases from December this year. Photo: courtesy of the Boeing Company.
