Boeing are behaving like King Canute. Putting the batteries in a box will just move the issue up one notch to a "containment failure". So from two problems in 3 months on a fleet of 50 or so planes, we can expect one problem per year or so from 1000 planes, which may not mean a lot in insurance terms but can be pricey when measured in souls.
By choosing to adopt containment at this stage, Boeing is also permanently rejecting the deployment of another battery technology across its fleet.
I think Boeing now needs to convince its shareholders that the 787 will be used mainly outside the US as this makes a marked difference in the risk of lawsuits and death compensation. Although I guess, about $1 Billion payout (3 airframe losses during the service lifetime) is perfectly acceptable for the execs, who hope this problem will only hit after they have left.
Last edited by edmundronald; 15th Mar 2013 at 15:30.