Boeing aims for mid-May restart of 787 deliveries
Boeing says 787 deliveries will resume in early May; affirms 2013 delivery and financial goals
FILE - This Feb. 11, 2013 file photo shows a Boeing 787 jet taxing following a test flight, at Boeing Field, in Seattle. The Boeing Co. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Boeing says it will begin delivering 787s again in early May.
The 787 has been grounded since mid-January because of smoldering batteries. Federal authorities have approved Boeing's redesigned battery system.
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney says the new battery setup has been installed on 10 787s that belong to airlines, and on nine more that have been built but not delivered.
He says "the bulk" of airline-owned 787s will get the battery fix by mid-May. Each installation takes about five days.
Boeing has kept producing the 787 even though it was grounded. But it can only collect the cash from airlines when it delivers the planes — so restarting deliveries is important to the company.
