Boeing and ANA to conduct service testing in Japan

Boeing stated a B787, in the All Nippon Airways (ANA) livery, arrived in Japan on 03-Jul-2011 to start a week-long series of test flights (Bloomberg/Chicago Tribune/Reuters/Associated Press/AFP/Japan Today, 03/04-Jul-2011). The B787, which landed at Tokyo Haneda Airport, will make test flights on ANA's normal domestic routes from 05-Jul-2011, with pilots and mechanics from both companies involved. The exercise will ensure the aircraft can fit into airport parking slots and use aerobridges and fuel hoses, ANA spokeswoman Megumi Tezuka said. The testing is one of the final validations ahead of the B787's entry into service as early as next month. The test flights will be conducted between Tokyo Haneda and Osaka Itami, Okayama, Hiroshima and Osaka Kansai. The service-ready testing "is more about the system working than the airplane. It's about ANA being ready to operate and Boeing being ready to support," Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said. Boeing Japan President and Boeing International VP Mike Denton added that Boeing has a larger-than-normal support team of more than 100 in Japan to support ANA this week.

Boeing: "I would say the primary focus starts with ANA flying the 787 and evaluating their operations. The idea is to test the plane in a way that ANA plans on flying it, taking into account air turbulence and weather patterns. There is always a chance we could discover something in the way they operate the plane that suggests a change may be required," Mike Denton, Japan President and Boeing International VP. Source: Japan Today, 04-Jul-2011.