Will the need to keep fuel pumps submerged on Boeing aircraft cause non-stop long haul flights to refuel, such as SIN-AMS and SIN-FRA (no to mention longer flights on other carriers)? The story is below:

Boeing fuel pumps order
Affects about 1,441 planes in U.S. and 1,700 elsewhere
From Kathleen Koch CNN
Tuesday, November 26, 2002 Posted: 2:10 PM EST (1910 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued another emergency order about what it deems to be potentially faulty fuel pumps in thousands of Boeing aircraft.

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• FAA orders Boeing jet inspections

The order, issued Saturday but taking affect Wednesday, requires airlines flying Boeing 747s, 757s and next-generation 737s to keep enough fuel in the center fuel tank to keep the suspect fuel pumps submerged.

The order affects 1,441 planes in the United States and approximately 1,700 planes being flown overseas.

In both August and September, the FAA ordered the same action after several miswired fuel pumps were said to have exhibited fraying that could have sparked a center fuel tank explosion.

FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto says this time the problem is pumps on 747s that overheated to such a degree that a potential explosion was again a concern.

"It appears to be some kind of friction problem independent from the miswiring problem, but we have not figured out what it is or how to address it," said Takemoto.

November overheating cases
Three cases of overheating were discovered: one on November 20 involving a SINGAPORE AIRLINES plane; one on November 22 involving a Lufthansa plane; and a third reported to Boeing on Friday.

The FAA said that in first two cases the fuel pumps were new and had been recently replaced. Boeing said that the third case involved a pump that was undergoing inspection for the earlier miswiring problem.

Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier says the aircraft manufacturer is working with the contractor that makes the pumps -- Hydro-Aire -- to trace the problem.

"Our goal is to take those pumps apart as fast as we can and try to track what could conceivably be causing them to overheat," said Verdier.

She acknowledged that flying with a full center fuel tank is costly and a burden to airlines, but insisted that it's the safest course to follow.

"We know that covered fuel pumps is the best way to go until we can get to the bottom of this," said Verdier. "As soon as we find a cause we can find a fix, and hopefully mitigate what the operators are going through."

The FAA and Boeing say that in the two cases in which the pumps overheated while in use, a pump fuel light went on. The pilots shut off the pumps, which on landing were removed and found to have become dangerously overheated.

The FAA said airlines will have to fly with the extra fuel in the center tank until the source of the overheating is found and Boeing and Hydro-Aire determine how to correct the problem.