United Airlines has revealed that it will resume trans-Pacific flights to Tokyo using its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft next month.
The US-carrier confirmed this week that its Denver-Tokyo Narita service would get underway on 10 June 2013. Domestic flights are due to restart on 20 May, on routes from Houston.
“Our customers responded extremely well when we introduced the 787, and we know they’ll welcome it back,” said Pete McDonald, United’s chief operations officer. “Boeing and the FAA were diligent in their work to fix the battery issue, and now the Dreamliner is poised to fly the missions we planned and provide our customers with the features and reliability they want on their long-haul flights.”
The long-haul relaunch could be scuppered however, by a recent petition filed by two consumer rights groups. FlyersRights.org and the Aviation Consumer Action Project have petitioned the FAA to only permit the Dreamliner to operate on routes within two hours of the nearest airport, due to their continued concerns over the aircraft’s battery. Such a limitation would prevent the B787 from operating trans-Pacific flights.
In the meantime however, airlines continue to prepare for the relaunch of Dreamliner services. The world’s biggest B787 operator, ANA, recently announced that it would resume Dreamliner flights on 1 June, including a trans-Pacific service to San Jose.
United currently operates a fleet of six Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
