Airline Norwegian has taken one of its Dreamliner aircraft out of service because it has “not been reliable enough”.
The decision was made after one of Norwegian’s Boeing B787s was left stranded in Bangkok with hydraulic pump failure.
Norwegian spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Neilsen said that the aircraft “has not been reliable enough and passengers had been subject to too many delays” and added that it would be taken out of service on long-haul routes.
The Dreamliner is due to be flown back from Bangkok to Stockholm without any passenges, where Boeing will perform delays which it said would take “a matter of days”.
The airline currently has two B787s in service and has another six aircraft on order. But its first two B787s have proved troublesome, leading to flight delays of hours or even days.
Norwegian has leased an Airbus A340-300 from aircraft charter company Hi Fly to temporarily operate on its long-haul routes from Stockholm to Bangkok and New York JFK. Currently this arrangement is scheduled to last until October 11.
“In consultation with Norwegian, the decision has been made to implement a number of enhancements to improve the airplane's in-service reliability following its return to Stockholm,” said Boeing in a statement.
norwegian.com/uk