The FAA in an airworthiness directive due to be released today says the cost of modifying the auxiliary power unit battery systems on United Airlines’ six Boeing 787 will total almost $2.8 million, or $464,678 per aircraft. Boeing has not disclosed the total cost of its modification program. Mike Sinnett, 787 Chief Project Engineer, says installations will take five days per aircraft.

JetBlue Airways says it spent $20 million in the first quarter to accelerate “engine performance restorations” on General Electric CF34-10s that power its Embraer 190s. CFO Mark Powers, during the company’s April 25 first quarter earnings call, said early restorations are being performed on its “higher flight hour” engines to improve their operational reliability and time on-wing, but was not more specific on the level of engine hours.

Sinnett says most common issue is over-discharge

Eight months after becoming the first U.S. airline to obtain FAA approval to use Apple iPads on the flight deck during all phases of flight, American Airlines on April 22 completed its rollout of the off-the-shelf electronic flight bags across its entire mainline fleet. Pilots of the carrier’s Boeing 757s and 767s, the last fleet type to equip, completed a 30-day transition with the iPads as primary flight support and paper charts as backup. American first tested the iPad on a Boeing 777 in January 2011.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved Boeing’s modifications for the litium-ion battery used for the 787-8’s axillary power unit.

Boeing’s engineering team of more than 300 personnel has started to install battery kits in 10 of the 50 grounded 787s and nine of the 25 787-8s produced since the FAA ordered a halt to flights mid-January, says Chairman and CEO James McNerney. During the company’s April 24 first quarter earnings conference call, McNerney said the company has a “high degree of confidence that we’ll get through it by mid-May.” Deliveries are expected to begin early next month.

State-owned military aircraft manufacturer Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) is using its supplier contacts to develop its commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business. Andi Alisjahban, IAe’s director of technology and engineering, speaking to Aviation Week at the Airlines and Airports Conference and Exhibition in Jakarta, says the company plans to perform engine maintenance and overhauls on CFM International CFM56 and Pratt & Whitney PW100 engines.

As Japanese airlines begin installing the battery fix developed by Boeing for its grounded 787s, the carriers are turning their attention to flight tests and the eventual resumption of scheduled service with the aircraft. Both All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines confirm that the battery modifications on their 787s started April 22. The two rivals account for the majority of the 787s delivered so far, and they have been hardest hit by the aircraft’s grounding due to problems with its lithium-ion batteries.