B787 Japan

In Japan, idled Dreamliner pilots lose pay, but want plane to be safe

A Japan Airlines aircraft (above) approaches for landing as an All Nippon Airways' Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner plane parks on the tarmac at Haneda Airport in Tokyo February 4, 2013.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Their smart uniforms are mothballed, their income has fallen and some are getting under their wives' feet at home.

The grounding of Boeing Co's global fleet of 787 Dreamliner passenger jets due to undiagnosed battery problems is taking its toll on the hundreds of pilots specially trained to fly the high-tech, fuel efficient plane.

In Japan, the 350 or so pilots at All Nippon Airways Co ANA.L (9202.T) and Japan Airlines Co Ltd JAL.L (9201.T), which operate around half the 50 Dreamliners in service, have been kicking their heels at home since the planes were idled in mid-January - an enforced rest period that is beginning to grate.

"For the first two weeks after the grounding, the 787 was in my dreams. It's the first time I haven't flown for this long," one ANA Dreamliner captain told Reuters. He asked not to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media. "It's like I'm rehearsing for retirement. My family teases me, saying I'm unemployed."

ANA puts Dreamliner fleet architect in charge of airline business

An All Nippon Airways' (ANA) Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner plane is seen at Haneda airport in Tokyo January 29, 2013.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's All Nippon Airways (9202.T) said it will switch to a holding company structure, putting Osamu Shinobe, the main architect of its strategy to put the Boeing Co (BA.N) Dreamliner at the centre of its fleet planning, in charge of the airline business from April.

The management reshuffle comes as the airline juggles its schedules and cancels flights with its 17 Dreamliners parked at airports in Japan until U.S. and Japanese regulators allow the aircraft to fly again.



Without planes to fly, the pilots - who have up to three months intensive training for the 787 - expect their monthly pay to fall by as much as 30 percent. They have mostly been assigned "blank" days - an industry term for pilots who are not on duty, staff at the airlines said. ANA has told its Dreamliner pilots they will undergo simulator refresher training next month, the pilot said.