LONDON Dec 13 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways has been forced to
ground one of its three Boeing 787 Dreamliners after it
found the same fault that recently forced a United Airlines
Dreamliner to make an emergency landing, its CEO said.
"One of our Dreamliners has the same problem that the United
plane had and I am very disappointed in Boeing," Qatar Airways
Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said in an interview at London's
Heathrow airport on Thursday.
"We will demand compensation (from Boeing)... we are buying
planes from them to use them, not to put in a museum."
He said the plane, which has been grounded since Dec. 9,
would not fly until next week after a Boeing team had repaired
the fault.
"We are aware of the issue and we are working with our
customer at their request," Boeing UK said in a statement.
Earlier this month a brand new United Airlines
Dreamliner with 184 people aboard was forced to make an
emergency landing due to an undefined mechanical
issue.
Qatar Airways, which received its first Boeing 787
Dreamliner earlier this month, has placed orders for 60
Dreamliners - 30 firm and an option for 30 more. It currently
has a fleet of three 787 jets.
Al Baker said he was concerned that two airlines finding the
same fault may indicate the presence of a wider, systemic
problem with the U.S. made jets.
"Two aircraft having the same major problem so quickly is a
cause of concern," Al Baker said. "Boeing need to get their act
together because the delay of more than three years in delivery
forced us to slow our expansion plans."
The mechanical issues, while not uncommon for airlines, are
another headache for Boeing - a company still working to
overcome the negative perception of production problems that
delayed delivery of the 787 by 3-1/2 years.
The Doha-based carrier expects to take delivery of two
further Dreamliners on Dec. 19. It expects to have 10 of the
lightweight jets in service by the end of 2013, a reduction from
the initial plan for 30.
Al Baker said the airline industry faced a tough two years
with more "consolidations and collapses" likely but that
conditions would start improving in 2015.