ANA Seeks Cash Compensation from Boeing for Dreamliner Grounding

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), the biggest customer of Boeing's Dreamliners, is seeking cash compensation for losses related to the grounding of its entire fleet of 787 jets.

ANA has chosen to pursue compensation rather than discounts on future purchases according to Reuters, which cites a person familiar with the airline's intention.

Owning the world's largest fleet of 787s, with 17 Dreamliners in its fleet, ANA is said to have suffered more than any other airline from the technical fault which forced operators to ground the aircraft in January.

All 50 Dreamliner jets have been grounded for the past two months after two separate incidents of battery fire, on a Japan Airlines flight at Logan airport in Boston and on an All Nippon Airways flight in Japan.

Since the grounding of the fleet in January, the Japanese airline has cancelled more than 3,600 flights to the end of May.

Reuters' source noted that compensation talks with Boeing had not yet begun, while a company spokesperson told the agency that it has not reached a decision regarding future talks with Boeing.

Boeing is yet to specify how it will compensate the airlines for lost revenue from the grounding of Dreamliners. Allowing a discount on future aircraft purchases would be beneficial for Boeing, as it allows the spreading of reimbursement costs over several years.

However, most of the airlines are expected to seek cash compensation, as they look for some quick money to make up their losses.

ANA's rival Japan Airlines (JAL) is the second-largest operator of Dreamliners, with seven aircraft in service and another 38 on order. United Airlines and Air India both own six each.

ANA previously said that it was losing $868,300 (£575,489, €674,582) in revenue per plane in the last two weeks of January. Meanwhile, JAL is expected lose 1.1bn yen ($11.6m) out of its operating profit for April-May, taking the total loss since the grounding to 1.8bn yen.

Boeing last week said it expects to have its grounded Dreamliner 787 fleet back in the air within weeks, after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the company's plan to redesign the lithium-ion batteries used on the jets.

Meanwhile, ANA said it may a take a month to fit the new battery systems to its fleet after Boeing completes all the tests and receives all regulatory approvals.