In January 2023, Boeing suspended deliveries of their 787 aircraft to customers. This aircraft resumed deliveries in August 2022 after a 16-month embargo on deliveries. This was bad news for Boeing and customers, who increasingly depend on this long-and-thin route warrior to fly worldwide. Boeing is now ready to start deliveries again.

Boeing’s 787 deliveries suspension

In the second half of January 2023, Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner so that they could analyse a particular component of the aircraft. No 787 aircraft have been delivered since January 26, 2023. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required Boeing to convince them that the issue it had, or perceived to be had, was resolved. Production of the aircraft, however, continued during this time.

Boeing’s statement at the time read,

In reviewing certification records, Boeing discovered an analysis error by our supplier related to the 787 forward pressure bulkhead. We notified the FAA and have paused 787 deliveries while we complete the required analysis and documentation.

There is no immediate safety of flight concern for the in-service fleet. We are communicating with our customers and will continue to follow the lead of the FAA. While near-term deliveries will be impacted, at this time we do not anticipate a change to our production and delivery outlook for the year.

Boeing receives approval for 787 deliveries.

Reuters reports that Boeing has approved 787 deliveries to resume as of the coming week. According to the report, Boeing has completed the analysis needed, and it meets the requirements of the FAA. So, there’s no need to do anything else to meet the standards set by the FAA.

Unfortunately, these frequent delays are bad news for customers, even though the OEM might compensate them for these delays. For instance, Boeing’s earlier delays have caused Vistara’s 4/6 787-9s to be still not delivered, and the airline had to lease a 787-9 to overcome the shortage of these aircraft.

Boeing is now coordinating with customers to resume 787 deliveries. One of Vistara’s 787-9 could also be delivered shortly, which might be the aircraft used to announce and launch the service between Mumbai and London Heathrow in the coming months.

Bottomline

Since late-January 2023, Boeing has had to halt deliveries of their 787 aircraft to customers. This is due to an error on the part of a supplier of Boeing, which has now been confirmed does not need further work from Boeing or their supplier for the in-service or in-production fleet. Consequently, the FAA has granted them permission to resume 787 deliveries as of next week (March 13, 2023, onwards).

What do you think of the continuous delays from Boeing on the 787 deliveries?

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