United Continental is taking grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners out of its schedules until June 5, except for a delayed Denver-Tokyo route now due to be launched in May.
The airline’s decision came as a Japanese investigation of a fuel leak on a Japan Airlines 787 reportedly indicated the cause to be a coating around the mechanism that controls fuel movement between tanks.
Japanese officials launched the investigation after two fuel leaks on the Jal 787, just days before authorities around the world grounded the new generation aircraft over battery failures that sparked fires on two in January.
Authorities in Japan still have not found the cause of the battery issue.
Boeing is due to meet with the head of the US Federal Aviation Administration today to present measures designed to prevent further battery failures, even though the root cause of the electrical problem has not been determined, a source told Reuters.
United Continental said that the carrier’s Denver to Tokyo route, originally set to start March 31, had been postponed to May 12.
The launch would ultimately depend on a successful resolution of the safety incidents that have grounded the 787. Other services with the 787 will not resume until after June 5.
“We are taking the 787 out of our schedule through June 5, except for Denver-Narita, which will tentatively launch on May 12,” the airline said.