Boeing’s vice-president of sales for Asia Pacific and India said on February 7, 2013 that the company will soon respond to compensation claims from customers of its Dreamliner jets. The announcement was made after the grounded aircraft were put back in service.
Dinesh Keshkar, said on the sidelines of an air show in Bangalore, “The focus is to get the airplane back, then we will deal with that issue (of compensation) like we dealt with all these deliveries that are happening”. Keskar added that the company will deal with the issue in closed rooms and directly with its customers.
Since the month of January 2013, around 50 Dreamliners had been grounded after two major incidents occurred, both involving battery problems. An investigation report being prepared by the US is due and is just a few weeks away from completion.
The Indian carrier Air India has a fleet of six Dreamliners and has ordered 21 more of them. There are possibilities that the airline could seek compensation from Boeing for the glitches in the jet. The possibility of compensation will be decided by the aviation minister of India. Launch customer of the Dreamliners All Nippon Airways has the biggest fleet of the 250-seat planes. The airline has said that it will demand compensation from the company once the amount incurred for the damage is clear.
