The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) has been seeking an answer to the battery problems in its 787 Dreamliner planes, and now a key customer said the company’s latest fix “makes sense.” Various agencies all over the globe have been investigating the battery issues after a series of incidents involving the planes grounded all of them. The Boeing Company ended up redesigning the battery.
The Wall Street Journal reports that CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) President Jeff Knittel has expressed confidence in Boeing’s battery fix and believes it addresses possible causes of the incidents involving the plane’s battery. CIT Group is one of Boeing’s key customers.
Leasing companies like CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) make up over a third of the jets around the world. Thus far The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) suspended almost 800 deliveries, and 50 other 787s are still grounded until regulators officially approve the company’s suggested fixes.
According to Knittel, the fixes Boeing is suggesting for the battery include extra spacing between each of the cells, a venting system and a special containment box to isolate a fire and vent fumes or smoke. He said CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) will receive the first 787 out of the 10 that they ordered late next year. He believes that after the 787 is back in the air, owners will forget about the battery problems that have plagued it.
Currently the Federal Aviation Administration is going over Boeing’s proposal, which the company said would cover a number of possible causes that have been suggested by investigators. If the fix is approved, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) can then move on to testing and certification of the fix. Then the FAA will give a final evaluation of the tests and allow 787s to begin running commercial flights again.
Knittel also said while some customers who have ordered 787s have looked for replacement aircraft before the summer travel season, he said that has been limited as companies choose instead to wait for the 787s to be fixed.
