Airbus, in response to the issues that Boeing is currently experiencing with its lithium-ion batteries aboard the 787 Dreamliner, has decided to scrap plans to use the batteries aboard its new A350.  The A350 Airbus is the European company’s answer to the new lightweight, mainly composite, Dreamliner.  According to The New York Times, “Airbus said it started informing airline customers on Thursday that it would not move ahead with an original plan to use the lightweight lithium-ion batteries to power a number of the A350’s onboard systems, and would revert instead to a conventional battery, made of nickel-cadmium, that is already used extensively on existing Airbus models.  Furthermore, “Airbus considers this to be the most appropriate way forward in the interest of program execution and reliability,’ said Marcella Muratore, an Airbus spokeswoman.”  The move is prudent considering all of the Dreamliners currently in operation have been grounded.  And earlier in the month, the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Dreamliner fires, recommended to the FAA that it should reconsider the approval of the lithium-ion batteries on the 787 Dreamliner.  It’s time for Boeing to also reconsider its use and switch to the more conventional batteries. The FAA will not permit the plane to fly unless the root cause of the problem can be uncovered and corrected.  In the meantime, its main competitor is getting ever closer to delivering the first new A350s in 2014.