LOT Polish Airlines chief executive, Sebastian Mikosz, has voiced his dissatisfaction with Boeing on the way it has handled the disruption caused by the grounding of the 787.
LOT was forced to suspend all 787 flights in January after incidents with the lithium-ion batteries caused the US Federal Aviation Administration to ground the aircraft type.
Although Boeing has received FAA approval for its new battery solution and the aircraft could be cleared for service within weeks, LOT has suffered from the grounding.
LOT was forced to lease extra aircraft to cope with demand – its entire long-haul fleet is 787s. "It has really created more problems for us than advantages," said Mikosz. "I don't see Boeing understanding this, because we've been left quite alone for a while."
Boeing however has stated that it has been in "ongoing conversations” with customers on the progress of the 787 situation. Boeing plans to modify the 50 787s already in service "in the approximate order that they were delivered", which means LOT will need to wait until the back of the queue since its two 787s delivered in November and December.
LOT and Boeing are negotiating terms of compensation.