Boeing to address compensation after Dreamliner back in air

ANA and Japan Airlines said they will seek compensation for the jet's glitches

Boeing Co will address compensation claims from customers of its 787 Dreamliner jets after the grounded aircraft are back in service, the company's vice-president for sales in Asia Pacific and India said on Thursday.

"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," Dinesh Keskar told Reuters on the sidelines of an air show in Bangalore.

"We will deal with that in closed rooms and with customers."

Boeing's 50 Dreamliners in service have been grounded since mid-January following two incidents involving battery problems. A US investigation into the issues is "weeks away" from completion, its head said this week.

Indian national carrier Air India has six Dreamliners and has ordered 21 more. The airline could seek compensation from Boeing for the jet's glitches, India's aviation minister said last month.

The Dreamliner's launch customer All Nippon Airways Co Ltd, which has the biggest fleet of the 250-seat planes, has said it will seek compensation from Boeing once the amount of damages is clearer. Japan Airlines Co Ltd has also said it will talk to Boeing about compensation, predicting this week that the 787's grounding would cost it nearly $8 million in lost earnings through March.

Meanwhile, Boeing Co is also in talks with carriers Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Air India to replace their 737 aircraft with 737-MAX models, Keskar said.