Norwegian spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen said today the plane "has not been reliable enough and passengers have been subjected to too many delays." He declined to identify the technical glitches encountered.
In the meantime, the Scandinavian low-cost carrier will lease an Airbus A340 to fly on its two new long-haul destinations between Stockholm, Sweden, and New York and Bangkok.
Norwegian Air Shuttle has ordered eight Dreamliners and received two.
The Dreamliner is the world's first commercial plane made mostly of lighter-weight composite materials. Boeing says the plane cuts fuel consumption by 20 per cent and lowers operating costs by 30 per cent. The 787 is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter weight, charge faster and contain more energy than conventional batteries similar in size.
But in July a Dreamliner with Ethiopian Airlines caught fire while parked at London's Heathrow airport, and the Polish airline LOT reported technical problems and demanded that Boeing try to solve a potential safety threat.
In August, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines briefly grounded their Boeing 787s for wiring problems unrelated to battery defects.