* Says cost of Dreamliner grounding “huge”
* To condition further deliveries on problems being fixed
By Karolina Slowikowska and Adrian Krajewski
WARSAW, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Poland’s national airline LOT
will seek compensation from Boeing Co. after
most of the U.S. planemaker’s 787 Dreamliner passenger jets were
grounded due to battery-related problems, LOT’s deputy chief
said on Thursday.
“We are analysing our contract with Boeing from the
perspective of our possibilities of filing for compensation,”
Tomasz Balcerzak told a news conference.
“All elements and irregularities that generate cost mean
that we will file for compensation in due time.”
LOT, the sole European airline currently operating the 787,
added two of the planes to its fleet late last year – seen at
the time as a sign of a new era for the loss-making airline.
They are now out of action, as Europe, Japan and India joined
the United States in grounding the Dreamliners.
When asked about the costs of keeping the jets in air sheds,
Balcerzak said they were “huge.”
LOT has three more Dreamliners to be delivered by end of
March.
“The schedule is still in force. Our third Dreamliner was
due to arrive by the end of January,” Balcerzak said. “We will
condition Dreamliner deliveries on the removal of the technical
blips and eventual dangers.”
Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights after
the Dreamliner grounding.
