Boeing plans to cut about 4,000 jobs from its commercial airplanes division by mid-year as part of a broader effort to reduce costs amid fierce competition from Airbus Group.

A Boeing 787 with a redesigned battery system made a two-hour test flight and the company said the event “went according to plan”.

Boeing has halted deliveries of new 787s to customers until its electrical system is fixed.

Japan's major airlines grounded their Boeing 787 planes for safety checks today, hours after one was forced to make an emergency landing, in the latest blow for the new jet.