Polish airline presses for 787 compensation

  • Bloomberg News
  • Tuesday, March 5, 2013 4:32pm
  • Business

WARSAW — Boeing faces increased pressure from the 787 Dreamliner fleet grounding as LOT Polish Airlines pushes ahead with compensation claims and Thomson Airways promises refunds for passengers shunted onto older planes.

LOT, the first European carrier to receive 787s, wants payment by the end of June, Poland’s Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski said in an interview with Polskie Radio 3 on Tuesday. Britain-based Thomson said 787 flights planned for May and June will be carried out using older Boeing 767s, and that passengers who paid extra to fly on the new jet will be reimbursed.

“We will ensure that we are adequately compensated for the situation we and our customers are facing,” Thomson spokeswoman Grace Jones said by email. Some 767 leases have been extended and other fleet adjustments have been made within the TUI Travel group to deal with the gap, she added.

LOT is the first airline to publicly demand compensation from Boeing for the grounding. The global 787 fleet was parked and deliveries halted on Jan. 16, just after the Warsaw-based carrier received its first jets, leaving one of them stuck in Chicago, where it flew on an inaugural trans-Atlantic flight.

Thomson said it was “disappointed” that the U.S. planemaker has not issued a new delivery time line. Passengers will also be allowed to reschedule travel plans, it said.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, another 787 customer-in-waiting, said Tuesday it signed an agreement with Lisbon, Portugal-based lessor HiFly to rent two Airbus SAS A340-300s, along with crews, to commence long-haul services if its Dreamliners are delayed.

Europe’s fourth-biggest discount carrier would fly the A340s, previously operated by Singapore Airlines and Dubai- based Emirates, to New York and Bangkok.

LOT, unprofitable since at least 2008, had counted on the 787s to help it cut its fuel costs, Budzanowski said. Poland will also want Boeing to provide backup airplanes if it turns out that the Dreamliners aren’t able to fly, he said.

LOT said last month it has ditched the 787 from its summer plan and is seeking gap-filler planes, while adding that it could restore them should Boeing come up with a fix in time. The lease of three Boeing 767s will be extended, as the Dreamliners will probably remain out of service until October, LOT said.

Poland plans to sell LOT after it completes cost cuts that will eliminate more than 360 jobs. It lost a likely buyer in June when Turk Hava Yollari, or Turkish Airlines, ended talks because of European Union rules capping outside ownership.

The carrier received a 400 million-zloty rescue loan from the government in December, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier this year that Budzanowski’s place in his cabinet depends on solving LOT’s problems “quickly.”

British Airways, the largest European airline due to receive 787s this year, also expects deliveries to be late, Willie Walsh, the chief executive officer of BA-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group, said last week.

British Airways would keep existing 767s flying until the new model arrives, he said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, responsible for grounding the Dreamliner, last month began reviewing Boeing’s proposed fix for the battery glitches that led to the move.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.