Boeing Co (BA) reported earnings of $1.22 billion, or $1.83 a share, down 9% from a profit of $1.34 billion, or $1.87 a share, from the same period a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.74 a share, missing analysts' expectations of $1.81 a share by 4%. Revenue grew from $22.15 billion to $22.63 billion over the same time period; analysts surveyed by Zacks expected revenue of $21.24 billion.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner made a two-hour test flight in Tokyo, Japan while a similar plane flew from Ethiopia to Kenya

Tokyo, Japan

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner made a two-hour test flight in Tokyo, Japan while a similar plane flew from Ethiopia to Kenya ending more than three months of grounding of the aircraft model worldwide due to a faulty battery.

A Dreamliner belonging to All Nippon Airways (ANA) took off from Tokyo's Haneda airport carrying airline and Boeing officials and engineers to demonstrate that it is safe to fly and hopefully set aside concerns on the lithium ion batteries overheating and causing smoke or fire. ANA Chairman Shinichiro Ito, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner and other passengers landed without incident.

After landing, Ito announced that ANA will resume regular service of its Dreamliner fleet in May after Boeing engineer complete fitting the new batteries on the planes.

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise (EAE) flew its 787 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. EAE Chief Executive Tewolde Gebremariam and Boeing vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth were in the two-hour flight.

All 50 existing Dreamliners were ordered grounded after the battery of one Japan Airlines (JAL) plane at a Boston airport sparked a fire on Jan. 7. On Jan. 16, an ANA 787 made an emergency landing in Tokyo due to an electrical fire.

The cause of the battery failures was not determined, but Boeing engineers redesigned it to address 80 identified causal factors, according to Boeing's chief project manager for the Dreamliner programme, Mike Sinnett.

The new battery has protection around the cells to contain overheating and is contained in a steel casing to prevent any fire from spreading. S tube will vent smoke outside the fuselage.

Japan's Transport Ministry approved the resumption of test and regular flights of ANA's Dreamliner jets, a day after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Boeing's battery fix.

The Dreamliner is made from lightweight composite material making it the most fuel efficient jetliner. ANA and JAL have the largest fleet of the plane.

Boeing is feeling the love at Le Bourget as it announced dozens of orders for new commercial passenger aircraft during the Paris Air Show

Despite the spate of labor unrest hitting major air carriers, the International Air Transport Association forecast a 73 increase in global aviation profits for 2011

Emirates ordered at the Dubai Air Show 50 Boeing 777 twin-aisle jets worth $18 billion based on list price

Qantas signed a contract to order from Airbus 110 new aircraft. It is the largest single commercial jet order in Australian aviation history

United-Continental, the world's largest airline, will replace the flight manuals of pilots with iPads, around 11,000 units of the Apple tablet computer. The rollout is an investment estimated at $5 million, but the move is expected to save about $1 million in costs annually

The Air France-KLM Group board approved the purchase of 50 new commercial jets to replace older planes