United moves 1st 787 to Texas for battery fix

[April 24, 2013]  CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines says it flew one of its 787s to a Boeing facility in San Antonio on Tuesday for the battery fix it needs to resume flying.

United has six of the planes. They've been grounded worldwide for three months because two of them had smoldering batteries. Boeing's proposed fix has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. Last week the FAA approved non-passenger flights for the 787 like the United flight that left from Los Angeles.

United Continental Holdings Inc. says Boeing Co. workers will install the fix, with help from United mechanics. Boeing has said the battery system modifications will take about five days per plane to install.

United has 787s in its schedule for May 31, but it has said that flights might resume earlier.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.