Large Boeing Buyer Praises Communication

Updated January 22, 2013, 4:19 a.m. ET

By DANIEL MICHAELS
The Wall Street Journal

Boeing Co. has done "a very good job" of communicating about problems that have grounded its new 787 Dreamliner, said Henri Courpron, chief executive of the International Lease Finance Corp. unit of insurer American International Group Inc.

ILFC is the largest buyer of Dreamliners, with 74 on order. The giant airplane lessor is scheduled to receive its first 787 in April. "At this point, there is no indication that there's a change in the schedule," Mr. Courpron said in an interview.

"Boeing has done a very good job of reaching out to us," Mr. Courpron said, adding he has been in contact with top managers at Boeing's commercial airplane unit.

ILFC is the world's second-largest airplane lessor by assets after the GE Capital Aviation Services unit of General Electric Co.

"Until the NTSB and the FAA have a firm handle on the problem and what is to be fixed, it's too early to talk about scheduling," Mr. Courpron said.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating a series of incidents, including two battery fires, that prompted the FAA earlier this month to ground all 787s. Authorities in other countries followed, grounding all 50 Dreamliners operating worldwide.

The FAA and NTSB are working with investigators in Japan because 787s operated by All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. suffered the battery fires.

"On one hand, we hope for a quick solution, but they need to come up with a fix that resolves the issue fully," said Mr. Courpron, who was previously a senior executive at Boeing rival Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.

Mr. Courpron said he has heard no doubts about the Dreamliner from customers. ILFC's first two 787s are slated for delivery to the Norwegian airline unit of Norwegian Air Shuttle, and another three are for Aeromexico.

"The 787 is a significant technological leap forward for Boeing," Mr. Courpron said. "When you try hard, it's not surprising you have glitches." He noted that all the recent incidents aside from two battery fires "were explained and addressed."

Mr. Courpron said that Boeing officials understand that "they have to get it right" resolving the Dreamliner problems. "It's so important for them. They have to get it safe."

Separately, Mr. Courpron said that the sale of up to 90% of ILFC by AIG to a consortium of investors from China is likely to be completed in the second quarter of this year.

"We're making progress on the regulatory front, both in China and the U.S.," Mr. Courpron said. "Everything is on track and things are moving as we expected."

AIG announced in December a deal to sell 80.1% of ILFC to a consortium of New China Trust Co. Ltd., China Aviation Industrial Fund and P3 Investments Ltd. for $4.23 billion. The deal includes a provision to sell an additional 9.9% stake to New China Life Insurance Co.and an investment arm of ICBC International.

Source:   http://online.wsj.com