Shares in All Nippon Airways and battery maker GS Yuasa surged on Thursday after a report that US and Japanese regulators were preparing to give the green light to the resumption of Dreamliner flights. Japan's Nikkei business daily said aviation safety bosses in both countries could lift the grounding order on the Boeing 787, which has been parked up at around the world since January following incidents involving its batteries.

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Wednesday it will cancel an additional 368 flights in February, with no end in sight to the global no-fly order on Boeing's Dreamliner. The total number of ANA flights cancelled since the January 16 grounding now stands at more than 1,200, affecting more than 100,000 passengers. ANA said cancellations on domestic routes in the last two weeks of February would amount to 308, while 60 international flights -- including those from Tokyo to Seoul and Seattle -- will be scrapped from February 19 through to the end of the month.