AeroBD | The AERO news Company…LONDON, December 11, 2015 : Boeing says the growing number of new routes the 787 has opened up is evidence the aircraft is also being used to fragment the traditional global network of hub-to-hub trunk routes.  “We’re up past 350 routes now being flown, and there are 75 new nonstop routes either in service or announced. That does include some secondary airports in cities with existing service,” says Boeing.

A typical 787 user is LAN Airlines of Chile. The airline experienced early service issues but is now using the twin jet on a wide range of routes and enjoying improved reliability, after “a very interesting journey” with its 787 fleet, says Sebastian Domenech, vice president for line maintenance networks at Latam Airlines Group, LAN’s parent company. The airline is now seeing the benefits of intense work to improve dispatch reliability. As recently as a year ago, LAN’s 787s performed well below the world average, with a dispatch reliability of only 96% compared to 98.5% for the global fleet. “We have now become much better,” says Domenech. The fleet is currently at 98.8%..

The airline grounded each of its 10 787-8s for about 16 days to work on upgrades. Initial problems with spurious fault messages caused by immature display and control (DCA) software were solved with software updates, while upgrades were also needed in the electrical system to components such as panels, batteries and power generators. Hardware changes also affected the air conditioning and flight controls. LAN has also looked at processes to improve reliability and invested a good amount of time into training technicians. “It used to take them hours to clear messages; now it is a matter of minutes,” Domenech says. The airline also found that improving ground power supply and closer adherence to auxiliary power unit startup procedures reduced the number of messages that needed to be addressed. The carrier has now taken delivery of its first six 787-9s, which “came with their own challenges,” says Domenech, although he adds that they were “a lot less significant.” Despite the focus on simpler DCA software, LAN still found the stretched variant suffered from too many spurious messages. However, aside from this and having to solve a traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) antenna moisture issue, the introduction of the -9 was “smooth for us,” he says.

LAN hopes it can transfer the lessons learned from its 787 experience to Brazilian sister company TAM, which will take delivery of its first Airbus A350 before year-end, although Domenech expects the Airbus widebody aircraft to be “a lot more robust.” LAN currently has 10 787-8s and six -9s, with another arriving before the end of the year. The aircraft fly about 11.5 hr. per day and both the -8 and the -9 are based in Santiago, Chile. The 787-8 fleet operates to Easter Island, Chile; Lima, Peru; Los Angeles; Madrid; Miami; Papeete, French Polynesia; and Sao Paulo. The Sao Paulo-Milan route was added in November. The -9 fleet flies to Auckland; Cancun, Mexico; New York; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Sydney. As the fleet grows, some of the 787-8s will move to the Lima base, where they will replace Boeing 767-300ERs. LAN reached an important milestone in May 2015 when it received Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (Etops) 240 approval for the 787 fleet. That allowed the airline to replace the four-engine Airbus A340 on the Santiago-Auckland route, an 18-hr. flight over water.

Polish carrier LOT accepted the first of six 787-8s in November of 2012 and expects to take its seventh by late 2016. The airline operates the aircraft differently for summer and winter. During summer, the aircraft are flown daily with a 24-hr. break every three weeks. In winter, the fleet is operated an average 15-16 hr. daily, says the carrier. The 787s are used on long-haul flights from Warsaw to Chicago, New York, Toronto, Beijing, and from January 2016 on will fly to Tokyo, a new destination for LOT. The airline also plans to open two other 787-operated routes to Seoul and Bangkok in late 2016.

After a difficult start, which included one of LOT’s aircraft being stranded in Chicago for several weeks during the battery crisis in 2013, dispatch reliability has reached 98%. The airline notes, however, that one particular aircraft—“Romeo Foxtrot,” which is wet-leased to Air Europa—has enjoyed reliability levels of almost 100% for the past 1.5 years with just one technical-related delay. “As such, it is the most reliable Boeing 787 in the world,” says LOT. In terms of fuel burn, the airline says a straightforward comparison of block fuel against the 767-300, which the airline used before the 787, shows average savings of 10-11% on the same routes. The airline says the 787 also brings “much better payload as well as range capability.” Similar to other airlines, LOT mentions reliability issues with cabin air compressors, ram air fans and electrical brakes. “The 787 is the first commercial aircraft with fully electric brakes, and as such it gives a huge weight saving, but so far they have a couple of reliability issues and we are trying hard to get the full benefit from them,” says the operator. LOT is working closely with Boeing on modifications, and  “a clear upward trend is visible,” it adds. The airline also notes that “it is important to keep in mind that there is no comparison with the magnitude of problems that occurred in the first year of its operations.”

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the largest airline operator of the 787. As of Oct. 1, it had a total of 42 -8s and -9s. It has 23 -8s in international configuration and 11 domestic, as well as six -9s in international configuration and two in domestic. For domestic services, ANA is achieving minimum turnaround times of 45 min. Fuel savings versus the 767 are at 21% for long-haul flights and 17% for short-haul. In general, the 787s are performing at the high levels expected, ANA says. The ability to fly long-haul with midsized aircraft has given the carrier wider choices as it expands its network. Three of the airline’s four new international destinations this year (Kuala Lumpur, Brussels and Sydney) will be served by 787s. ANA operates more than 3,000 787 flights per month, and the airline says dispatch reliability is at the same “very high” level as its Boeing 777s.

Japan Airlines (JAL) operates 22 787-8s and one 787-9. It flies them mainly on long-haul European and North American routes, as well as medium-haul Southeast Asian routes. Prior to the arrival of the 787s, the carrier had to use larger aircraft such as 777s for long-haul, but now has a midsize option. Average block hours per day for the 787s is close to 10 hr. The carrier says it uses fuel-saving procedures with these aircraft such as delayed flap and delayed gear approaches, idle reverse and single-engine taxiing after landing.

Aircraft reliability “is improving and gradually getting closer to the level that Boeing assumed,” JAL says. The carrier notes it will continue to work with Boeing to reach that goal. In terms of operational problems, JAL says it “still has some minor issues, but those are being resolved with Boeing’s support.”